No Raindrops on Roses
by shalzi15
Summary: Chapter 17 through 21.. read inside for descriptions. Sorry its been a while but I hope you'll enjoy!
1. Chapter One

_Title: No Raindrop on Roses  
Author: Shalzi  
Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek.. I have ideas if I did.  
Summery: Will be done for every Chapter. It will be Dasey._

_Chapter One Summery: Casey is starting to get fed up with being Miss Perfect. But no one seems to understand what she's going through._

**Chapter One**

Casey stood behind the counter in the kitchen making sandwiches for Edwin and Lizzie's lunches. They had some school field trip to a natural science museum that both of them seem overly excited to be going to. She could understand Lizzie's reasoning for being happy to be doing school work on a Saturday. But for the life of her she couldn't understand why Edwin was skipping into the kitchen with a smile.

Her mother, Nora, sat across from her sipping her cup of coffee. The question floated into her mind as to why she wasn't making their lunches. It kind of made her feel angry and used. But as soon as the thought entered her mind she yelled at herself. She shouldn't be so selfish. Nora needed help sometimes, obviously not at this moment, but sometimes. Casey would give anything to go back to her youth before her mother expected so much with no argument.

Lizzie sat at the counter in front of her bowl of cereal. She seemed so jittery and overly excited. That was how Casey was at her age. She remembered Lizzie used to be so jealous whenever Casey would go to one of these trips with all her friends. Lizzie would stand in her doorway and watch as her and her best friend Meghan got ready. Meghan was always making sure that Casey looked perfect for the boy she was trying to impress. These field trips were the only time she could dress down instead of a uniform. It was he chance to shine.

Back then she wasn't such a loser in school. Back then she was as well known as Derek.

Speaking of the devil himself. He entered the kitchen still in his pajamas. Marti must have woken him up because no way would he be up on his free will. He strolled over to the fridge and pulled out a half gallon of orange juice. As he opened it, Casey predicted him drinking right from it. So she grabbed it from his hands and a glass from the counter at the same time. She poured it and shoved the glass at him. He gave her a dirty look.

"Grow up," Casey said.

Sure, grow up, Derek. Become uptight. Become expected to do things. Become expected to make lunches without being asked to. Become Casey. Miss Perfect. Or well, Mister Perfect in his case. Become the type of person to give everything to be careless.

Derek went to open his mouth to respond but was stopped by the sound of a car horn. Lizzie and Edwin jumped up and grabbed their lunches. Nora kissed them goodbye. Edwin practically knocked Lizzie over to get out of the house. It suddenly became obvious as to why he was so excited. Derek. He couldn't wait to have a Saturday where he wasn't used as target practice.

"Casey?" Nora started.

What could this be? Would she have to clean the bathroom? Or maybe watch Marti? Maybe watch Derek? That would make sense.

Casey looked over at her. "Yes, mom."

"I set up a play date for Marti at noon," she explained. "There's this boy in her class that she's been playing with and we thought it would be good for her social skills. I was hoping maybe you could do some cleaning up around here while me and George are gone."

Cleaning. Why did they both have to go? Why couldn't Nora stay home and George take Marti? Marti was his daughter after all. This just wasn't fare. But there was nothing she could do or say to get out of it. Beside her Derek chuckled. She just shot him a dirty look which made him quickly sip his orange juice.

"Sure, mom," she slowly chocked out.

Nora smiled happily. "Great. I knew you wouldn't mind."

"Why would I mind," she said, trying not to sound annoyed.

Nora jumped out of her chair. "Oh and Derek, it wouldn't hurt to help."

"Sorry, I've got plans," Derek said.

Nora just nodded and walked away.

"Yeah, with the remote," Casey snapped.

He stepped behind her and whispered into her ear. "A plan's a plan."

Casey watched as he left the kitchen with disgust. What a jerk! They all left her to, of course, clean the kitchen all by herself. Her mom wasn't leaving right away. Would it hurt to do **_some_** dishes? Of course not. She knew that her darling Casey would do it all for her and she wouldn't have to worry about anything.

She started by dumping all the left over food into the trash and putting the dishes into the sink. Then she put away the milk and orange juice as the sink filled with soapy water. She started to scrub each dish. This was probably the worst part of the day. She had to clean off utensils that others had in their mouths and bowls where the food had actually stuck to it. It made her hands soggy and gross.

Nora entered the kitchen fully dressed. She smiled at Casey over at the sink. Casey could tell she was proud. But she wasn't proud of the great daughter doing all the house work. No. She was proud that **_she_** had raised the daughter doing all the house work. She did a great job creating a slave willing to do anything if you gave her the puppy dog/guilty "I raised you" look.

"Thanks, Casey," she said. "You're a big help."

"No problem," Casey responded.

Nora kissed her on the cheek before leaving again. She couldn't even offer to just help. A little bit of help would have been nice. She wasn't the mother or the house wife here. She was the daughter. She should be sitting on the couch doing nothing all day or going to the mall and spending all of her mother's money without once thinking she would need it. She shouldn't be doing these chores for no money. She could at least get an allowance. But she was to nice to ask for one.

She finished the dishes and wiped down the island with a rag to complete the kitchen. She grabbed a pen and paper from the counter and sat down at the now clear island. If she was going to be doing all the work, she might as well make a schedule. First upstairs. Her room, the bathroom, the hallways and then make all the beds. Then the laundry and while that was rinsing and drying she would work on the living room and dining room.

As soon as she finished she ran upstairs to start. She made all the beds, mopped the hallway, and disinfected the bathroom all before Nora, George and Marti left the house at 11:30. Yet again, no help. She was surprised when she wasn't asked to dress Marti.

After they left she loaded the washer machine with whites. Then she started to vacuum the rugs in the living room to Derek's dislike. After all, what an inconvenience to his day of television watching. He jumped up and unplugged it from the wall.

"Sit," he told her.

"What?" she asked.

He pointed to the couch. "Sit down."

"I have way to much to do!" Casey yelled. "And I am getting no help here from you. If I sit down I will get nothing done. You would like that, wouldn't you? Casey would finally disappoint her mother."

Derek just rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying that you could at least use a break."

"This house isn't going to straighten itself," she said. She bent over and plugged the vacuum back in, turning it on immediately. "Not with you living here anyway."

Derek threw his hands in the air before taking his seat once again. Casey watched him in disbelief. Why wouldn't anyone just help her?

When she got done the floor she went back to check on the laundry. She shoved the wet clothes into the drying and put more dirty ones into the wash. When she walked into the living room Derek was standing with the vacuum bag in hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked slowly.

"I am relinquishing you, my friend," he told her.

Casey pointed at him. "Do **_not_** do it."

"This is for the best," he said.

He took a hold of the bag with both hands and ripped it. Casey gasped as she watched all the dirt she had swept up flying all over the floor. She could barely see through it at Derek. Once it cleared she just stared at him in absolute shock.


	2. Chapter Two

_A/N: I made Casey's feelings confusing. There's the feels of what she knows and then the feelings of not wanting to be that way anymore. She doesn't know what to do. If she keeps on helping out and doing everything than she won't disappoint her mom. But if she stops everything then she'll disappoint her mom. She feels the weight of her situation and she's confused. Know what I mean? Thanks to those who reviewed. I wrote this chapter three times. Hope you like. Also! Sam and Casey broke up and that's why they're uncomfortable. Just incase you wonder._

**Chapter Two Summery: I don't know how to summarize this one. Basically the same as before. Sam appears in this one.  
**

**Chapter Two**

He actually did that.

The dust from the ripped bag littered the floor. It was more then she had vacuumed up in the first place. Days of dust bunnies were back where they first started. Now she had to start all over again. But wait! She didn't rip the bag. No, it wasn't here. It was Derek. He should be the one cleaning up this mess. Not sitting back down to watch television!

Casey rushed over to Derek and grabbed the remote from his grasps. "You are going to help me!"

Derek jumped out of his seat, reaching for the remote, practically falling onto the floor. She had obviously taken him by surprise. She went to throw it against the wall but he jumped in front of her.

"Give me the remote," Derek threatened.

Casey shook her head. "No! You did this, you clean it up."

"Funny," Derek snickered.

He went to grab the remote again. Casey threw it across the room. It slammed into the wall next to the fire place, making a knick in the wall. The back popped off and the batteries flew out, one going under the couch and the other towards them. Casey covered her mouth when she saw the black knick. She never thought that would happen. How was she going to fix that?

"You better hope its not broken," Derek said.

"Derek!" she exclaimed, running a couple syllables.

Derek picked the remote up and put the batteries back in. "Just leave it."

"Mom and George will flip out if they come in and see this," she snapped. "So get another vacuum bag and get started!"

Derek snorted. "No. I'm not doing it. You can."

"You did it," she said, crossing her arms.

Derek stepped closer to her. "I know. But I'm going upstairs. You won't leave it. You can't. Because you can't stand to disappoint your lovely mother."

He snickered down at her before handing her the fixed remote. Then up the stairs he went. There was no point in going after him. They had had arguments like this plenty of times. She would get up there and try to get him back down but he wouldn't. Then she would get nothing done because they would just keep yelling at each other.

But, under no circumstances, was she cleaning up his mess.

She sat down on the couch and crossed her arms. Her eyes continuously traveled to the mess behind her. George and Nora were going to flip when they got home. She could just clean it and then tell them. She would be the one cleaning it later anyway, right. Derek never would.

She went into the shed and found another vacuum back. Then she put it into the vacuum, which was covered in dirt. Her hands were now covered with it as well. Disgusting. She couldn't believe herself for actually cleaning up Derek's mess. But in all honesty, he was right. She couldn't stand to disappoint. She could see her mother's face when she came into a dining room floor covered in complete filth. So there was nothing she could do.

After what seemed like forever she finished the floor. Dust bunny free. Now she had to wipe down the table and chairs. She had half a mind not to touch Derek's. His had a thick layer of dirt on it. But she was such a good girl. She would probably have to vacuum again after wiping them down. She should have thought of that before vacuuming the floor in the first place.

Behind her she heard the door open. No way Nora and George were home already. Even if they were, it would be okay. Most of the mess was cleaned up and there was still a little evidence for them so see themselves. She stood up and turned to see Sam standing before her. Her breath caught in her throat. He could still do that to her.

"Hey," Casey breathed out with a shaky tone.

"Hey," he said, more even then her. He pointed to her cheek. "You've got something on your cheek."

Casey blushed as she wiped her cheek off with her sleeve, hoping the dirt on that didn't make it worse. "Thanks."

"No problem," he answered. It sounded like a filler.

Casey shrugged. "What are you doing here?"

"Derek called earlier," he informed her. "We're going to shoot some hoops."

She pointed upstairs. "He's in his room. Follow the loud, obnoxious music."

Sam looked up the stairs and then back at her. "How are you?"

"Tired," she explained. "I've been cleaning all morning."

"Why don't you take a break?" he asked.

Casey didn't know how to answer. She opened her mouth and closed it, ending up just shrugging and shaking her head. She knew why, but didn't know how it would sound to him.

"Well, before I tell Derek I'm here-" Sam started.

Derek raced down the stairs, tossing the ball at Sam. "Hey. Ready?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "Lets go."

Sam looked at Casey for a moment before following Derek through the kitchen. Casey couldn't believe him. He wasn't finished talking to her. He tended to put Derek first. She didn't have a clue why. She had given up time with her friends to be with Sam when they were together. But whenever it came to Derek, Casey always fell behind. When Derek said jump, Sam would jump high enough to bring back a star.

She tossed the dry rag onto the now clean table. He wanted to talk about something. Now she wouldn't know. All because of Derek.

By the time Nora and George came back with Marti, Lizzie and Edwin were home and fed. All by their wonderful big sister of course. Derek still hadn't come home. The whole house was spotless and the wash completely done. All by their wonderful daughter of course. Nora gave her a kiss on the cheek and thanked her.

"Can you please put Marti to bed?" Nora asked her as she took a seat on the couch. "Its been a long day."

Casey rolled her eyes. "I need a shower."

"It'll take five minutes," Nora said.

Casey crossed her arms. "Have Derek do it."

"Can't," Derek said as if on cue, coming in from the kitchen all sweaty. "I need a shower."

Casey groaned. "I do too!"

"Me first!" Derek said, tossing the ball at her.

Casey caught it before it hit her then dropped it, wiping her hands on her clothes. "Gross."

"Great!" Nora smiled, "no you can get Marti ready."

Casey crossed her arms over her chest and said slowly, "Great."

_**A/N: Its going to pick up. Casey is going to go through some major changes. I require comments of course. Thank you all so much who reviewed on the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed this one as well.**  
_


	3. Chapter Three

_**A/N:** Thanks for all of your reviews. I'm trying so hard to keep the characters the way the show does. I write each chapter at least three times because I mess up on them. I don't want Casey to yell back at her mom (just yet) because I see that is totally out of character. I hope you enjoy this. I'm introducing a "new" character._

**Chapter Three Summery: Casey meets the new boy in school named Trevor. This just as she comes to the realization that Sam is avoiding her and Emily just doesn't seem to have time for her.**

**Chapter Three**

Casey stood at her locker collecting her books for her first period. Down the hall a girl screamed, followed by a ton of laughter. Casey looked at first but pushed it off as something stupid. It was always stupid in high school. Nothing actually important happened.

"Hey," Emily said as she stopped beside her.

Casey smiled. "Hey."

"Hear about the new kid?" Emily asked.

Casey shook her head as she dropped a notebook that flew across the hallway. "Crap."

"He's a total freak," Emily continued, not even noticing. "I mean, head to toe black. I heard he even wears eyeliner. Oh and chokers. What guy wears chokers? I haven't seen him. I've never seen someone like that. I mean movies but not here. My friend Jen says he's a real loner type. She said he might be gay."

Casey went to pick up her book but before she could reach it someone else picked it up. They both stood up straight and there was the boy Emily was talking about. She could hear Emily shut up immediately. How humiliating if he heard anything she said. Casey smiled sweetly at him as he handed her the book.

"Thanks," she said.

He nodded. "You're welcome."

And with that he was gone. Casey watched him, still smiling. He wasn't that horrible looking. He was actually pretty cute. She felt her face burning up. She was obviously blushing.

"Do you think he heard me?" Emily asked.

Casey looked over at her, almost forgetting she was even there. "I don't know."

Emily looked at her side ways. "What is it?"

"Nothing," she smiled as she balanced her bag on her shoulder. "I'll see you in math, okay. I've got to talk to Sam."

Emily just nodded. "Okay."

Casey turned and walked away. She had to talk to Sam. When she had called on Sunday to see what he wanted to talk about on Saturday his mom told her he wasn't home. Then he never called back. His mother was good at relaying messages so she didn't understand why he wouldn't call back.

She found him at his locker.

"Hey," she smiled.

Sam looked surprised. "Hi."

"So on Saturday It sounded like you wanted to talk to me about something," Casey said.

Sam shrugged. "It wasn't important. I have to go. I'll see you around."

With that he left.

See you around? That didn't sound right. She had made up some fantasy in her head that Sam wanted to give it another try. But you don't see "see you around" to the girl you want to give it another try with. That's what you say when you're trying to avoid someone. Was he trying to avoid her?

She turned slowly to see Derek watching her. But just as quickly he disappeared into the stairwell. She just stared at where he was with confusion. But she just shrugged it off and headed toward her first period.

Emily was waiting for her outside the door. "How'd it go?"

"It didn't," she sighed.

As they went to walk in the classroom she nearly bumped into the new boy. Before realizing who it was she apologized. Emily had already made it through but stopped to see what happened. The new boy smiled at her. She leaned against the doorway with a huge smile planted on her lips. This boy had a way with making her smile. She didn't even realize she was blocking the doorway. He took her arm and pulled her inside but then stopped.

"I'm Trevor," he said.

Casey looked behind her as she realized the angry student now coming in then turned back around. "I'm Casey."

He just nodded and headed over to the teachers desk. Casey looked over at Emily who had an eyebrow raised. Casey just shrugged at her and took her seat towards the front of the room. Emily took the seat beside her, she couldn't take her eyes off her.

"What was that?" Emily asked after class.

Casey watched as Trevor headed the opposite was as them. "What was what?"

"I hope you're not planning on pulling some rebound thing with Goth boy," Emily said, turning Casey to face her, "because that wouldn't be smart.

Casey laughed. "I'm just being polite, Em. Where's the sin in that? I mean, remember when I first got here. Everyone thought I was a grade-grubber-"

"You were," Emily interrupted. "And the whole Klutzilla thing."

Casey cocked an eyebrow. "Anyway. Everyone probably thinks he's some scary boy. What was it you said, the loner type? Maybe he's not."

"I didn't say that," Emily said. Casey gave her another look. "What? I only repeated it."

Casey shrugged. "Looks can be deceiving."

"Okay," Emily said. "What are you doing after school? I was thinking maybe-"

"Stop before you bring up a totally awesome idea," Casey sighed. "I've got to get home and watch Marti, Lizzie and Edwin. Mom and George won't be home until late. But you're more then welcome to come over."

Emily shook her head. "No. That's okay. I'll see you later."

As Emily walked away, Casey couldn't help but feel sad. Emily was so able to do whatever she wanted. She had nothing tying her down. She could go out and have fun every once in a while without even thinking twice. But Casey was unable to have any fun. Even when she did go out with her friends, she was the one with the level head, thinking out everything before it was even brought up. Carefree was just not in her nature. She crossed her arms across her chest. Why couldn't she just say no to her parents, and yes to shopping sprees and parties?

She turned around and walked in the opposite direction of where she was supposed to be going. She rushed around to her locker and stopped to see the Trevor was going into Derek's. She looked at her locker. She had been planning on getting her poetry book. There were so many ideas running through her head. But this seemed way more interesting. As Trevor went to put a book in his bag it fell without him even noticing. She rushed over and picked it up.

"You dropped this," she said.

Trevor turned and smiled at her, taking the book. "Thanks."

"No problem," Casey smiled. She looked into Derek's locker. "So, uh, where are you from?"

"New York," he answered.

Casey looked surprised. "Really? What brings you here?"

"This place is a huge tourist trap," Trevor joked.

Casey chuckled. "I guess I'll see you around."

Trevor nodded. "Sure."

She waved as she walked away. He just shook his head with a goofy smile.

_**A/N:** In my first draft I made Trevor an old student like the show but it wasn't fitting right. So I made him new. You'll learn why later Casey seems so attracted to him. And I know lots of you are wondering when Dasey will start. Its going to just flow toward it. I'm really holding off on it because Casey really has to go through some things. I don't want to jump into it. Again, please review for the next chapter.  
_


	4. Chapter Four

_**A/N:** Again, that you for reviewing. This chapter was pretty slow but I wanted to shove something into the story._

**Chapter Four Summery: Casey's last straw. Its just a normal dinner at the house and who do you think gets left with the clean up.**

**Chapter Four**

Casey wasn't sure if she wanted to get to know Trevor or not. After she walked away she had told him she'd "See him around." That's what Sam told her. In her case she meant it. She would say hi to him in the hallway, she would maybe invite him to their lunch table. Who knows? Maybe she would even get him to come and sit at the front of the class with her and Emily.

Emily laughed on the other end of the phone. "Loners like the back where there's a dark hole to hide in."

"That's not very nice," Casey said, feeling offended.

Emily stayed quiet for a moment before murmuring, "Sorry."

Lizzie appeared in her doorway. "Dinner's ready."

"Okay," she answered then turned back to the phone. "I've got to go. I'll talk to you later." She hung up and smiled at Lizzie. "Go without me. I'll be down in a minute."

Lizzie looked confused but just walked away without a word.

She wanted to delay going down. If she went when called she would be roped into setting the table. For once she wanted to avoid doing something. Even if it was something as stupid and as little as putting forks and plates and food dishes onto the table. Nora would probably say something about it when she got down there. She didn't have a lie to tell her. She could improvise if asked. Well she could try.

She tossed her hair into a messy ponytail before heading down the stairs. The table was all set and everyone was just starting to sit down. Mission accomplished.

"Hey, honey," Nora smiled. "Where have you been?"

"I know, its been great," Derek said sarcastically.

They gave each other dirty looks.

Casey had been avoiding the downstairs all together. She was sure Nora had some things for her to do. She had to know that Casey was in her room. Its not like it was a secret. Lizzie knew exactly where to find her.

Nora giggled. "Were you hiding?"

"What would I have to hide from?" Casey asked, she gave a sweet smile, but wished the words had come out more sarcastic.

"So how was school today?" Nora asked.

Before anyone could answer Marti went into her long story about every detail of her day. Sometimes it seems like she prepared for this moment. She used finger paints today. Its amazing how she gets into detail about how the paint feels in between her little fingers. She apparently wanted to be a fairy. Fairies had colorful wings and brought happiness to everyone. That's what she finger painted, a fairy. She promised to show everyone later.

"Sounds great," Derek said sarcastically.

"Derek," George warned.

"That's nice, honey," Nora smiled at Marti.

She kept that smile all the way through Marti's boring story. That must have taken a lot. It was obviously fake. Had she done that when she was younger. She always believe her mom loved her stories. Maybe she was wrong. And what about now? When she thanks her for cleaning the house, that smile, is that fake? She began to feel sick to her stomach. Whenever her mom thanked her, it somehow made it a little worth it. Maybe she wasn't grateful at all.

Nora looked at Casey. "How about you?"

"Oh, its was okay," Casey told her.

"Can I get wings?" Marti asked from her end of the table.

George laughed. "Sure."

After dinner Nora asked Casey to help her clean up. Derek ran straight to his room and Edwin to the couch. Lizzie helped clean off the table but once it was all in the kitchen left, leaving Nora and Casey to themselves. Casey figured she could probably get away. Maybe she could claim to have homework or something. She looked at the mess. She couldn't leave all this for her mom.

"I have a headache," Nora sighed.

Or would her mom leave the mess for her. Casey raised an eyebrow.

"Can you handle this?" Nora asked.

Casey thought about saying no. But she didn't have a reliable excuse, and lets face it, she couldn't lie her way out of a paper bag. She gave her best angel face smile and nodded.

"Thanks," Nora said, giving her a kiss on the cheek before going downstairs into her bedroom.

Casey crossed her arms and looked around at the mess. She couldn't believe her mom. How could she expect so much from her? It made no since what so ever. She should of just said no. She wished she could just lie and get out of it. She wished her mom wouldn't do this to her. She couldn't put up with it anymore.

She started to angrily scrub her dishes. This would have been a stress reliever if it weren't the thing she was stressed over. She decided to clog the drain. She would claim it was an accident and then George would have to fix it. So she didn't scrape the food into the trash, she just tossed it into the sink and began to scrub. She turned to grab another plate but a dish fell onto the floor.

"Great," she sighed.

She bent over and started picking up shards of glass. She figured she could pick up the bigger parts and then she would just sweep up the little ones. As she went to stand up she went a little off balance and squeeze one of the shards into her hand. Out of pain she dropped all of the shards back onto the floor. She looked down at her palm where their was a gash now. She winced and squeezed it with her other hand.

Derek appeared in the doorway. "Smooth, Klutzilla."

Casey gave him a dirty look. She grabbed a bunch of paper towels and put it over the blood, trying to stop the bleeding. There was a lot of bleeding.

She didn't even realize that Derek had reached her side. She grabbed her wrist and shoved her hand under the running water. She winced at the feeling of the hot water hitting her cut. Derek turned the cold water up more and the hot off.

"Stay there," he said.

Casey watched as he went over to the shed and got the first aid kit. "I'm going to need stitches. It looks bad."

"Don't be such a baby," Derek yelled toward her. "Its not that deep."

"I am not a baby," Casey snapped.

Derek put one of Nora's good dish towels on her hand then forced her to sit down on a stool. "I used to get cut up a lot as a kid. My mom used to freak out because she was horrible with things like that. Then she would wash off the cut, sit me down and tell me some story of her childhood. Something stupid like how my grandma drove her crazy on her first dates with guys. She would let me ask questions, which when I was a kid I had a lot of. Like Marti does now."

"You don't talk about your mom much," she noted.

He shrugged. "Yeah."

"Why is Sam avoiding me?" Casey asked.

Derek shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't know he was. All done."

Casey looked down at her hand. She hadn't even thought about it the whole time he was talking. She smiled at the bandaged hand. He had done a pretty good job. He tossed the dish towel and paper towels she had used into the trash can.

"You're mom is a smart woman," Casey smiled.

"Was," Derek corrected her. Casey looked confused but he just smiled at her, a clever smile. "Now what will you tell your mother about the dishes that won't be done because you broke her dish and cut your hand."

With that he left. Casey rolled her eyes. Leave him to ruin the nice moment. But he was right. She couldn't finish the dishes. Her mom wouldn't yell at her or anything. She may even be concerned that she had gotten cut. But would it be real concern or not.

And how was she going to pick up this glass?

_**A/N: **__This may be Casey's last straw. We'll see. I wanted to shove a Dasey moment in there to show that Derek could be nice. And also I wanted Casey to ask about Sam. I had someone ask about what Trevor could bring out in Casey. That'll be seen in next chapter. And spoiler, Derek knows something about Sam that Casey doesn't. Please review for next chapter!_


	5. Chapter Five

_**A/N:** Thanks so much for your patience! I had a friend that hit hard times and I was helping her out and I wasn't able to write. This chapter was only written once so sorry if its bad. I wanted to get it to you guys because I felt bad._

**Chapter Five Summery: Trevor is starting to rub off on Casey. But what will it lead to?**

**Chapter Five**

That morning her mom finished up the dishes before work, but she seemed a little on edge with all the kids. Casey sat at the island with her bowl of cereal, barely touching it. The cut itched under Derek's bandage. She kept trying to get her fingers under it to scratch it, but he had it done so tightly. He must have predicted her doing this.

She had thought everything through last night. The dishes was step one. Maybe the cut on her hand was a blessing. She didn't really want her mom to know at first that's why she couldn't finish the dishes. She was almost temped to tell her she broke the dish on purpose. But then she could see her mom's face, the sadness that would appear on it. After all, she was a good kid, she would never do that. Nora would probably think she failed as a parent.

"Stop trying to scratch it," Derek's voice came from behind her.

She jumped and looked at her hands. She wasn't even trying! It was totally self-conscious. And that just proved that he had bandaged it so well.

Nora sighed. "I don't understand how it happened."

"I told you," Casey said. "I dropped the dish and when I was picking it up I cut myself."

"It can't be that bad," Nora said. "Let me take a look at it."

Derek stopped her. "No. I bandaged that really good."

"She may need stitches," Nora told him.

"Derek knows what he's doing," George chimed in. "This kid never came home without a new scratch growing up. His teacher said he was trying to impress the ladies with his skills."

Lizzie looked confused. "Then why was he all scratched up?"

"He didn't have any," George laughed.

Derek shrugged as if he agreed. "I do now though."

Casey looked over at her mom. She looked over stressed. What was she stressed about? Maybe it was work. She should have been more considerate of Nora's feelings. If she hadn't been so angry she would have never broken the dish and never have gotten cut and the dishes would be done. Nora would have nothing to worry about this morning.

But why was Casey so worried? Daughters don't worry about their mothers. Mothers worry about their daughters. Its common knowledge. Its science.

She got up from the island and started gathering her things. Without even a goodbye she left.

The first thing she did at school was run to Paul's office. She needed a one on one conversation with him. She went to open the door but it wouldn't open. She kept trying, even though she knew it was locked. She let out a deep sigh and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. What could she count on if Paul wasn't in his office?

When she opened her eyes, Trevor was leaning on the wall next to her. She felt startled and looked around in confusion. Trevor wasn't even looking at her, he had his eyes on the ceiling. She smiled up at him before resting on the wall again.

"You look like a person with a lot on her mind," Trevor said so smoothly.

Casey nodded. "I am."

"So, lets get out of here," he said.

Casey looked over at him. "What?"

"Everyone needs a break," Trevor explained.

She shook her head. "Not me. I'm good."

"Alright," he said.

With his foot he pushed himself off the wall and walked away. Casey watched him go down the hallways and turn into a stairwell. She bit the inside of her lip. That offer felt so tempting. But she couldn't possibly just skip school. School was very important. Her eyes traveled to Paul's office before she pushed herself off the wall as well and made her way to her locker where Emily was waiting.

"Hey," Emily smiled. "So last night I went to the mall with Jen and we bumped into these three guys. Totally cute guys. You should have been there. It was so cool… and what happened to your hand?"

Casey looked down at it. "I got it on broken glass."

"Oh, ouch," Emily grimaced.

"Its not that bad," she shrugged, "not anymore. Derek wrapped it pretty good."

Emily looked confused. "Derek?"

"I know, it was kind of weird," Casey shrugged.

Emily smiled. "So, we're planning on meeting these guys again after school. I'm sure you have plans already. So Jen is bringing along her friend Amanda. Its going to be so much fun."

Casey felt a little offended. But she couldn't be angry. Emily was right. She was always busy with things to do for her mom. She could never just let loose and do whatever she wanted. She couldn't go to the mall and flirt with random guys with her best friend. It sounded like fun. Of course the whole time questions would be going through her head about who they were. She would probably ask them. It would ruin everyone's fun. If she had been there with them she probably would have shooed the boys away. No, not probably, she would have for sure.

"You ready?" Emily asked.

Casey peaked around her and saw Trevor leaning against the wall down the hall by the staircase. He was watching her. Casey smiled and looked at Emily.

"Actually," she said, starting slowly toward Trevor, "I'll catch you later."

"Later?" Emily asked, watching her.

Casey nodded. "Later."

She continued to walk backwards, smiling wildly as she approached Trevor. Then she turned and smiled at him when she almost bumped into a few other students. He just, coolly, nudged his head toward the exit doors before leading the way out of them. Casey took one last look at Emily. She looked truly shocked. She even looked around to see if anyone else was even watching. Casey just waved before leaving.

_**A/N: **I figure its probably bad. I wrote this on three different days, same chapter. I'm sorry. This is probably the shortest chapter. I feel bad. But next chapter will be what they do on this day. I'll get that as soon as possible. Review though! You've all been great with that! Thanks!_


	6. Chapter Six

_**A/N:** I realized I was spelling Summary wrong because the dictionary never told me lol. So I fixed that and now I feel stupid. But anyways, thanks to all your reviews!_

**Chapter Six Summary: Where is Trevor going to take Casey? Will she have fun? I didn't know how to summarize this one. I introduce a new character.**

**Chapter Six**

"So where are we going?" Casey asked, she just had to.

They had been walking in silence for ten minutes. She had no clue where they even were. They went into the opposite direction of her house. That's the only route she ever traveled. Everything was that way. Her house, the mall, for places. All of it you turned the other way. So what was this way? She was kind of interested. It seemed kind of _slumish_, like her side was the better side.

"Do you do this a lot?" she continued to ask.

Why wasn't he answering?

"I mean not walk, but cut classes," she cleared up as though he wouldn't know.

"You ask a lot of questions," he smiled.

Casey nodded. "I've been told."

He turned into a drive way of a house. Casey stopped and examined him. How was this fun? She could go to a house any day. Trevor noticed that she wasn't trailing him and turned to look at her.

"Come on," he told her.

Casey followed him through the garage and into the house. It was nothing like her own. First off it was only one floor. The furniture looked like it had been through a war and the wall paper on the walls needed a new coating. There was a girl about eighteen asleep on the arm chair.

"I just need to pick something up," Trevor told Casey.

Casey nodded before examining the girl in the chair. He hair was shoulder length and recently dyed red. She noticed a nose ring, just a stud. Was Trevor's whole family this punk rock kind of way. It was kind of interesting. She wondered what his parents looked like. Suddenly Trevor took the girl's arm and lifted her onto his shoulder. She woke up and screamed.

"Put me down!" she yelled.

Casey just watched in amazement as he carried her into another room. Curiously she followed. Trevor put her down In the bathtub and turned on the shower. She screamed and went to get out but Trevor pushed her back in and closed the shower door.

"Now get ready," he said. "We've got places to go."

He walked past Casey and into another room. Casey turned back toward the shower to see the door slide open and the girl pull herself out. Before the girl could say anything, Casey followed Trevor into the next room.

"What was that?" she asked.

Trevor shrugged. "She came home drunk last night."

"And what places?" she said.

Trevor turned and smiled at her. "First I'm taking Angela to work. And then, we'll see."

"We'll see?" she said with confusion.

"You'll love where she works," he smiled. "It only comes to town three times a year."

Angela appeared in the door fully dressed. "Well now you'll just have to wait for me to dry my hair."

"Take your time," he said sarcastically.

She gave him a dirty look before walking away.

An hour later they climbed into the car, Trevor driving. Angela willingly climbed into the back seat and lied down on her back. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands. Hung over. But she couldn't be a day over eighteen. She shouldn't be drinking at such a young age. But by the looks of her she looked like she had problems.

"You know, you would think that because we hardly ever see each other you would not treat me so badly," she sighed.

Trevor just laughed and pulled out of the driveway. Within minutes they pulled up at a carnival. Casey looked confused. As Trevor and Angela climbed out of the car she stayed put. Was this where Angela worked? She gave a laugh of amazement as her jaw dropped open. This couldn't be where they were spending the day.

Her door opened and Trevor peaked in, "You coming?"

Casey closed her mouth and nodded before climbing out of the car. Angela was already in the park. She was putting on some kind of apron as she approached a ticket booth. She disappeared for a minute before coming out with two bracelets and a stamp, which she put on the two of them.

"Have fun," she smiled.

Casey looked around. "Its closed."

"You're cute," Angela said. "We're about to test the rides for the day." With that she walked away.

Casey looked at Trevor. "She's great."

"Sarcasm noted," he said, then he took her hand and pulled her with him. "Do you like Sizzlers?"

"What?" she asked.

He pulled her into a ride and they climbed in, Casey on the inside. Angela approached the guy that ran the ride and told him something before he started it up. As they span faster, the pressure made Casey push into Trevor on the other side. After that the went on something called the Music Express, which was basically the same but went in a circle and then backwards. They went on the fun slide and on a kiddy rollercoaster that neither of them fit in. It was basically a dragon that went in a circle with two baby hills. Then came the pirate ship and the swings and basically every ride in the park.

Her favorite had to be the carousel. She always wanted to stand up and walk around on one when she was younger. So basically she walked in a circle and the guy running it turned the other way and told her to tell him when they were done. As Casey walked, Trevor sat side ways on a horse. He just laughed at her whenever she passed. Every time in a new position.

When he came around another time he jumped off the horse and walked backwards in front of her. "So, are you having fun?"

"Tons," she smiled.

Trevor nodded. "Are you glad to cut school?"

"You know what? I think so," Casey admitted.

"Good, I'm glad," he told her. He climbed back onto a horse and stood up on its back. "Over the years you learn balance."

"You're going to break your neck," she laughed.

He climbed back down onto the seat and Casey walked along side him. "So what next?"

"What time is it?" she asked.

Trevor checked his watch. "Almost two."

Casey just nodded. "You know, this is the most fun I've had in the longest time. I never get to go anywhere and I never get to do anything."

"You should change that," he said.

Casey smiled. "I should try at least."

"Would it be totally out of line," Trevor hoped back down off the horse, "if I kissed you?"

Casey laughed and felt he face get hot. "You're asking?"

"Some girls don't like randomness," Trevor said, tossing his hands up in defense.

"Is this how you get the girls?" she asked, still smiling. "You take them to carnivals?"

Trevor shrugged. "It works."

Casey tip toed and kissed him lightly on the lips. "It does."

Trevor blushed as well. "Okay. Obviously."

"You should take me home," she sighed, looking down.

Trevor just nodded. "Okay."

They both looked over to see most of the carnival workers watching them. Casey felt her whole face go hot. She hid it behind Trevor's shoulder. He just waved his hand in a way to tell them they were done.

The whole ride home Trevor played songs she had never heard and he kept saying how he felt sorry for her. She just rolled her eyes. When they pulled up out front Trevor got out of the car with her and walked her to the door.

"Thanks, Trevor," she said.

He just nodded and said, "You're welcome."

She contemplated kissing him but before she could say no he kissed her just as softly as she had kissed him. When he took a step back she giggled. Giggled? She felt stupid. She walked backwards into the house, nearly stumbling. She closed the door behind her as slowly as possible, not taking her eyes off him. Then she waved. As the door clicked she leaned against it and let out a sigh.

"Where have you been?" Nora asked, anger in her voice.

Casey jumped at the sound of her voice and found her and George staring at her from the living room.

_**A/N:** I loved writing this. I thought it was so cute. Please read and review._


	7. Chapter Seven

_**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming! I love them!  
_

**Chapter Seven Summary: After the greatest day of her life, Casey is caught cutting school. Will she keep her cool and take her punishment? Or will she finally break?**

**Chapter Seven**

It had been so great before she walked in the door. She had had the best day of her life. She had a childhood dream fulfilled. What kid wouldn't want a carnival to herself? It had been amazing. Trevor was just… he was perfect. The whole day couldn't have gotten any better. It could only get worse. Which it did when she heard those angry words from her dear sweet mother.

"Where have you been?" Nora steamed.

Casey continued to lean against the door. She kept her eye fixed on the ground. Should she play dumb? Maybe ask what was the matter. But what was the point. It was obvious that they knew she hadn't been in school. So all she could do was what she was already doing. Stay quiet.

"Your school called us to see if you were okay," Nora explained how she knew. "Mrs. Tredgeway had seen you this morning and wondered if you had gotten sick or something. Where were you, Casey?"

She had never heard Nora so angry before. Not at her anyway. No, wait, not at all. She had let her down. Casey had spent so many years just trying to avoid this moment. But one day with Trevor, one day of bliss, one day, one moment of defiance and she was in deep trouble. Her mom just kept going. But she had nothing to say as far as Casey figured. She was the perfect kid. Not like Derek at all, like her mom just compared her to. She had no list of wrongs, there was nothing to take away. She didn't have freedom.

"Freedom!" Casey yelled, giving her mother the meanest glare she had only ever given to her stepbrother. "What freedom?! I do everything! I never get to go anywhere because I'm to busy playing perfect child! You don't let me go with my friends. Not because I'm some horrible child but because you need me to clean the entire house, or put Marti to bed, or clean the yard or the garage."

Nora looked completely surprised. "That's not true!"

"It is so true!" Casey screamed.

What was she doing? She yelled at herself to stop. She didn't want to say anything she would regret.

"I had fun!" she kept going. "For once in my life I did something for me. Why can't you just let me have today?! Let me have something."

She just noticed that Lizzie, Edwin and Marti were sitting on the landing of the steps. Derek had come in from the kitchen, obviously just getting home from school. They all looked mortified, including Derek. She shouldn't be yelling in front of the younger siblings. It was a bad influence. She didn't want them to grow up and yell at their parents.

"Go to your room we'll finish this later," Nora said, trying to seem calm.

Casey stomped her foot like a child. "I want to finish this now! Punish me! Ground me for life! Make me do everything I've been doing for the past fifteen years!"

When did Derek get to her side?

She was on a high. She was floating on air. Everything she had thought over the last couple years was just flying from her mouth so fluently. It was like anger and frustration was a language of its own. The look on Nora's face almost satisfied Casey. The look of pain from the words her daughter was saying. No, not saying, yelling.

"I hate you for making me this way!" Casey finally yelled.

Derek had grabbed her. "Alright, you're done!"

Done? No she hadn't even begun.

But before she could say another word, Derek's hand was over her mouth and he was dragging her up the stairs kicking and screaming. She had to say more. She couldn't just stop now. If she stopped now her mom would never know that her cutting her hand was all her fault and her skipping school was all her fault. She couldn't take it if Nora didn't know. But God was Derek strong because he had a pretty good grip on her and her mouth.

He brought her into her own room, kicking the door closed then practically throwing her onto the bed. She laid there, flat on her back and started laughing. It was relieving this laugh of hers. It wasn't that the situation downstairs had been funny. It was just that she had no one to yell at. All she could do was laugh to let out this feeling of complete joy.

"Have you gone completely crazy?!" Derek yelled.

He was pacing. What was his problem?

She pushed herself up and let out a long breath. "I feel relinquished! Derek! I am relinquished!"

He stopped and looked at her sideways. "That's great. You know, I am very happy for you."

"I've had the best day," she laughed and laid back down.

"Really, that's good," he kept saying. "But, you know, while you were gone your mom was worried sick. She probably thought you were dead somewhere. I mean, she called me at school to see if I had seen you."

Casey stopped laughing and sat up slowly. She stared at him.

"And then!" he said, starting to pace again. "Then you come in the door a completely different person. You yelled at her and you told her that you hated her. That's every mother's dream, you know. For their daughter to hate them."

Casey looked away from him. That feeling was fading and became replaced with shame. But why should she be ashamed? She jumped to her feet.

"Right!" she said with anger. "And I am so sure your mom loves it when you don't call her. I'm sure she loves it when she calls and you avoid it with a lie that you're not home."

"Stop it," he said.

Casey crossed her arms. "Or how about the time you answered the phone and told her that you never want to talk to her again!"

"Shut up!" he yelled now.

"But then you talk about her like she was some kind of saint!" she pushed. "You talk about her like she's perfect. Who avoids such a great mother? Huh, Derek? If she was so amazing why would you just act like she never existed?!"

"Because she left!" Derek yelled back. "Because she left me and I don't need someone who doesn't want to be around. And I wish she had stayed and then you would have never come here and everything would be perfect again! If dad had never met Nora he would still be with my mom! And I blame you guys!"

Casey took a step back and just stared at him with shock. He was staring at her the same way she had stared at her mom downstairs. There was such anger, such hatred in those eyes. She didn't know he hated her that much. She covered her mouth and took another step back.

His face changed like he had just realized what he said. He kept his eyes on her before walking out the door, slamming it behind him. Casey jumped at the sound of it.

She felt like crying. They always argued but never once did she think he hated her like that. She never thought he blamed her and her family for breaking up his.

She went over to the window and opened it. She had seen this in movies and television shows. She looked out and tried to see if there was a path down. There wasn't a good one. She wouldn't risk her life to just get out of this house. Or would she? Because at this moment this was the last place she wanted to be. But there was nowhere to go. No where to hide. No matter what she'd have to come back here and deal with the situation she made.

She turned and looked at the door, leaning against the windowsill. Derek looked like he was trying to help. Casey messed up this time. She had broken two people in one night.

She went out the door and sat at the top of the steps. Nora was trying to whisper to George but she could hear everything. It made her sick to her stomach.

"What did I do?" she cried.

Casey folded her arms on her stomach.

"She hates me?" Nora continued. "I mean, when did that happen? Casey and I have never had any problems. Maybe I put to much pressure on her. I don't want to loose her."

"You're not going to loose her," George soothed her.

"She's at that age," Nora told him. "Teenagers all go through this. I just never thought Casey was that kind of teenager. And I never meant to push her away."

Casey wiped the tear from her eye. She looked at Derek's door. Then she stood back up and went over to it. She wanted to knock and say she was sorry for everything. She rose her hand to the door and everything but couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead she just pressed her fingers against the wood and lightly tapped. She couldn't even hear it, there was no way he would. So she just backed off and went into her room. Derek suddenly started blasting his music.

_**A/N: **So I have this whole story about Derek's mom. I don't think the show explained it but its obviously not a good story in this fic lol. I finally made Casey break! YAY! I wanted her to freak out like any person would that has been holding things in. Please review! Next chapter is undecided so I have no spoiler._


	8. Chapter Eight

_**A/N: **Okay so instead of just "Thanks for the reviews" I've decided to respond to some that asked questions or seemed a little confused. Okay, so like I've said before this IS GOING to be Dasey. I am taking my time, I am sorry to anyone who wants it right away. But I need Casey to develop toward it and I need their relationship to change._

_**Funnechick: **I had Casey on some kind of "high" from the yelling that she was willing to take her anger out on anyone. And since she held it in for so long everything came out all at once, and it just so happened to be at her mom._

_**Inulover4eva: **Thanks! Whenever I flip out I look back and find it to be funny. But I made it seem like she wasn't in the right state of mind, like her not realizing that other people had entered the room or how Derek had walked over to her. And I love Trevor in this to. I wanted to make him sweet and a bit of a rebel. Oh and yes the part where Casey tapped on Derek's door was from Wedding Crashers! I Love that scene! And Derek didn't do it back but he did hear it. I didn't say that, I just noted that he "suddenly" started blaring his music._

_**Catdogg: **She was all in the heat of the moment. I've done it before. She was just on a role and the words flew from her mouth._

_**MHxxPAPER DOLL: **First off, I hope that your hands okay LOL. I did so many chapters before this to just load up all of her frustrations. I'm nothing like this, I freak immediately lol. And the whole Casey and Derek fight will be cleared up. But read again, Derek never said he hated her. And he's probably feeling just as bad as Casey… hmmm…_

_Okay so **THANK YOU SO MUCH** for all of your reviews. I love getting on and seeing them all. I'm glad you all like my story so much!_

**Chapter Eight Summary: This is kind of a filler. Its the next morning. Casey finally gets to speak to Paul about everything.  
**

**Chapter Eight**

Casey hadn't slept a minute. When her alarm went off she was already dressed and ready to go. Everyone else would be getting up around now. If she was lucky, she could make it downstairs and out of the house before Nora and George even reached the kitchen.

No such luck, Marti was already in the hallway.

She hadn't spoken to anyone. She was half expecting Nora to burst through the door last night and give her the worst punishment. Casey had spent most the night wondering what the worst punishment could be. There wasn't anything to take away. She never watched television, she only used her computer for research, and all her books were educational. They couldn't take away cleaning because that would be relaxing. They could only make her do everything she's been doing for the past couple years. So that wasn't a real punishment at all. It would just be her life.

"Everybody up!" George yelled in the hallway.

There was a knock on her door and he popped his head in. "Oh, you're up."

Casey just turned to look at him and gave him a small nod. He gave her an uncomfortable smile before leaving. Of course George wouldn't say anything. He would let Casey go downstairs and face her mother with no warning. She could smell her cooking breakfast in the kitchen. It made her sick to her stomach. She was definitely not hungry.

When she left her room she wasn't sure what she would do. Last thing she wanted to do was bump into Derek. They looked at each other wide-eyed. Then Derek turned and went back into his room. Casey let out a long sigh and made her way downstairs. Lizzie was in the living room shoving her books into her bag. She looked up at the sound of Casey's footsteps.

"Hi," Lizzie said.

Casey sat on the landing. "Do you hate me?"

Lizzie shook her head. "No, you got carried away. And you don't hate mom."

"I know," Casey agreed. "I got carried away."

Lizzie nodded. "I'm betting you're not hungry."

"No," Casey said. "Plus, I think I'm the last person mom wants to see."

"You should talk to her," Lizzie told her.

Casey stood up. "I will. I'll see you later, Liz."

Casey gathered her things and left for school. She could used the walk. There would be no cutting today. She would be the perfect kid. Not even if Trevor gave her one of those smiles. She had to stay in school.

What she really needed was someone to talk to. She really wanted to talk to Paul. It had been days since she just let out everything. Well, other then the screaming fit she did the night before. But she needed to talk it out. Paul always knew what to say or how to solve the problem.

When she arrived at school she found Paul in his office shuffling through paper work. She stepped in slowly. Paul stopped and looked up at her from behind his desk.

"There you are," he said, smiling. "Come in."

Casey sat in her normal chair. As soon as she did she went off. She explained everything he had missed and everything she wished she could take back. He didn't even try to break in and stop her. He never did. He let her explain and then he would just ask however many questions he had for her. Which usually was a lot. She would admit that she did have a tendency to ramble and talk to fast.

"Its not that I meant to say it," Casey explained about saying she hated her mom. "I love my mom. She's given me everything."

"Did you tell her this?" Paul asked.

Casey shook her head. "I'm to ashamed to face her."

"You should," he said.

Casey sat back. "And yet that's not even the worst part. I actually feel bad for something I said to Derek. But then I think I shouldn't. He's the one that should feel bad! He should apologize to me."

"What did he say?" Paul asked.

"That he blames my family for breaking up his," she explained. "I mean, I knew Derek hated me, I didn't know that he hated me that much. And not just me but mom and Lizzie too."

"Wow, that's pretty bad," Paul said.

Casey sat forward. "But I shouldn't of snapped at him. He was making complete sense and it made me so mad though. I didn't want sense and logic, I wanted to be unreasonable and irrational."

"What do you mean he was making sense?" Paul asked.

Casey ignored him. "I should apologize. But I'm not going to apologize and have him not apologize. Oh no. Although, after he said it, I don't know. It looked like he regretted it, you know. Kind of how I feel right now. I should say sorry, to everyone."

"Casey, everyone deserves at least one breakdown," Paul said. "But only a true human being can admit when they've wronged."

"I've wronged," she sighed. "I've wronged a lot."

After saying thank you she left Paul to finish whatever he was up to. She went to her locker and saw Emily waiting there. Most likely for her. Nora had probably called her and questioned her about Casey's whereabouts. If Emily told Nora that she left with Trevor… that would be her punishment. She was going to be forbidden to see Trevor. She could feel it in her stomach.

"Casey!" Emily practically screamed. "I've been dying! What happened last night?"

"To much," Casey answered, reaching into her locker for her books.

"Your mom called me," Emily explained, "she sounded worried. I didn't know what to say. The truth was I didn't know where you were. All I knew is you left with the new boy."

"Did you tell her that?" Casey asked.

Emily looked guilty. "She was really worried. And so was I. I tried calling you."

Casey looked down the hall where Trevor entered. She walked away from Emily without saying anything more. Emily was in the middle of a sentence. Casey felt her eyes on the back of her head. But Trevor had a pull about him. She didn't understand why.

"Hey," Trevor smiled.

Casey forced a smiled. "I got busted."

"No way," he said, surprised. "What's the damage?"

Casey shrugged. "Not sure yet. I kind of flipped out on my mom. She hasn't said anything about punishment. But Emily told them I was with you."

"Ah," was all he said.

Casey looked down at her feet. "I'm the type of girl who always does the right thing, you know?"

"I know," Trevor nodded.

"So I don't know why I did that yesterday," she continued. "But I'm hoping my punishment isn't going to be not seeing you anymore. Because I want to see you."

"I'm glad because I want to see you," Trevor said.

The bell rang, interrupting their conversation. Casey smiled up at him.

"I'll see you later," she said, backing up.

Trevor nodded. "Later."

Casey let out another giggle. What was that? Why did he keep making her giggle?

_**A/N:** I'm seeing this chapter as a filler. I wanted Casey to talk to her mom the night after but I didn't want to skip the next morning. Please review. I've already started the next chapter._


	9. Chapter Nine

**A/N: I am SO sorry about the wait.. I feel terrible. I kept writing but in a regular book and just never brought it to my computer. But here it is. I was so sick and then I just totally got lazy. Not anymore. I promise. I hope you guys aren't terribly mad at me.**

**Chapter Nine Summary: I'm back. Basis.. A fight with Emily? Derek still ignoring her? At least she has Trevor, and some free time to spend with him. Right?**

**Chapter Nine**

Everything had changed Nora was obviously avoiding her eldest daughter. No one asked Casey to do anything anymore. The things she did do, she chose to do. Her guilt was burning a hole in her stomach. She couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep. All she could do was try to make it up to her, try to make it right.

Derek was a different story. There wasn't an escape for the guilt. He was everywhere she went. When she was at home, there he was, when she was at school, there he was. Every time she thought about apologizing she would chicken out. She never knew how to start. Knowing Derek he would turn it into some kind of big joke.

Casey leaned against the row of lockers as she waited for Emily to finish up in theirs. She was going on and on about how Jen had a new boyfriend and the only guy Emily wanted wouldn't give her a second glance. Derek, of course. They had this conversation already. All the time. Casey could say Emily's lines for her. There was never any change, nothing new for Emily to go on.

"Jen told me I should go for it," Emily said. "But I just can't, you know. I mean, its Derek Venturi." She let out a sigh. "I just wish I knew what he was thinking."

Casey groaned in annoyance. "I don't care."

"What?" Emily asked in surprise.

"I don't care," Casey repeated. "I've got enough problems to be worrying about you and your stupid crush on Derek. I am so sick of listening to this stuff. Its never going to happen. Get over it, Emily."

Emily slammed the locker shut. "Well, I'm sorry to of bothered you with my petty problems. I thought you were my best friend. I guess I'll just have to keep it all inside."

"Whatever," Casey said, catching herself using that ridicules word.

"Fine, and maybe we shouldn't talk at all," Emily snapped. "You can find someone else to complain to."

Casey crossed her arms. "Fine by me."

With that Emily stomped off. Casey dropped her head against the lockers behind her. The hole in her stomach began to grow. She had done it again. She had yelled at someone who didn't even deserve it. Emily wasn't doing anything wrong. She was only trying to talk things out in her head. Everyone needed to do that sometimes. But, did she have to do it so much.

She looked down the hall to see Trevor at his locker. She was tempted to approach him when Derek appeared by his side. At first she found this odd. They shared a locker together but Casey had never actually seen them talking. She had never even seen them together before.

Casey pushed herself off of the lockers and walked over to them. Trevor smiled at her when he noticed her. She felt her face get hot. Derek turned around and looked at her as well. He leaned against the lockers and let out a sigh.

"I'll see you later," Derek said as he pushed himself up and walked away.

They both watched him for a moment as he walked back from where Casey had come from.

"What was that?" Trevor asked.

Casey turned to face him. "We're fighting… I think."

"You think?" he repeated.

She shrugged. "We're not talking."

"Ah," he said.

Casey smiled. "So, listen, I was thinking. Well I am having no fun at all sitting at home alone on my couch."

"Really?" he asked. "Because that sounds like a hoot."

She playfully rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I was hoping maybe we could do something. Or better yet, maybe you could come over."

"Come over?" he asked.

"Well yeah," Casey nodded. "I mean, why not?"

Trevor laughed. "Well, maybe the tension you could cut with a knife, the constant silence I'm sure endure, and the fact your mom knows I am the one you cut school with and I am sure I am the last person she wants to meet."

"Okay, so, no then," Casey sighed.

"No, no, it sounds great," Trevor said.

Casey looked at him with confusion. "Are you mental?"

"I must be," Trevor laughed. "We'll meet here after class."

Casey nodded and watched him as he walked away and disappeared into a classroom. She couldn't help but smile and feel so excited. Hopefully she could get him out of the house before six when her mom got home so that there would be no awkwardness. Then her mom and George didn't have to set eyes on him. Only Derek, Lizzie and Edwin.

During her history class she could barely think. She wondered what they could do. Maybe watch a movie or just talk and get to know each other better. Lizzie and Edwin wouldn't bother them, they were good about stuff like that. And at the moment Derek wanted nothing to do with her, so she was safe there. After class she dropped by her locker to pick up her homework books before Emily could even enter the hallway. Then she rushed over to meet Trevor who was waiting by the door with a smile.

On the walk home they walked side by side. Trevor told her all about life in New York and how it differed from life here in Canada. Casey told him about her dad living there and thinking it would be cool to visit him. He explained how he used to want to drop out of school and go with his sister and their carnival crew but she wouldn't let him, because that's what she did and it was no life. It was a seasonal job anyway.

At some point she felt his warm hand slip into hers. She looked at him with surprise before looking down at their hands. He didn't intertwine them, just sort of cupped hers with his. Her mother always told her you can tell you're meant to be with someone by the way they hold your hand. If it's a perfect fit, how tight they hold it, and how they hold it. She told her that she would know when it was right. It wasn't right. But she didn't dare pull away, instead she smiled at him.

When they entered the house no one was home yet. She called out but no one answered. Derek was usually home before her unless he took the walk home with a friend. Sometimes stopping by the park to play a little ball. Lizzie and Edwin got out of school a half hour after they did so they would be home a little later. As Casey dropped her bag by the door, Derek came in through the kitchen. He stopped when he saw them.

"Hey," Derek said, more so to Trevor then to her.

Trevor nodded. "Hey."

"I didn't know you were coming over," Derek said.

"It was a end of the day decision," Casey told him.

Derek nodded. "Yeah. Kitchen."

Casey watched as he headed toward the kitchen. She knew he wanted her to follow. Casey held up her index finger to Trevor, indicating for him to wait a moment. Then she followed him in. Derek closed the doors behind them.

"You're being extremely rude," she noted.

"Did you ask Nora if you could bring a guy over when she's not even here?" Derek asked.

Casey crossed her arms. "And how many times have you brought a girl over without the parentals knowing?"

"This isn't about me," he snapped back. "Its expected from me. Right now your mom and you aren't even on speaking terms and you're going to ruin it. If she comes home-"

"She won't," Casey interrupted. "He'll be gone by the time she gets home. Now, Derek, please don't ruin this for me. I really like him."

"You don't even know him," Derek said, more like an angry whisper.

Casey rolled her eyes. "Don't ruin this for me and its not a request."

She turned away from him and went back through the doors. Trevor was looking at the pictures sitting on the mantle. Derek was on her heals. When she stopped in her tracks he nearly ran into him. She tossed him a dirty look over her shoulder then turned back to look at Trevor.

"Okay, so, how's a movie sound?" Casey asked.

Trevor nodded. "Sounds good."

Casey looked back at Derek. "Bye."

"No, no, I'm in for a movie," Derek smirked at her.

"No," Casey said, "go upstairs or go out or something."

"Something," Derek said, "like watching a movie."

"Pretty in Pink," Casey snapped.

Derek laughed. "My favorite."

"Its fine," Trevor said. "It sounds good. Except the 'Pretty in Pink' thing."

Casey shot Trevor and angry look, hoping he would have at least backed her up. "Fine."

"Can I use your bathroom?" Trevor asked.

"Upstairs," Casey told him.

Derek waited until he was upstairs to turn to Casey. "I'm saving you."

"I wouldn't call it that," Casey said. "I would call it being in my way."

Derek shook his head, stepped closer and lowered his voice. "You see, you've gone off the deep end. Lizzie and Edwin will be home any minute, they'll meet Trevor and tell the folks all about him. I mean, have you fallen off your rocker. What in your right mind says cut school and invite the kid over without supervision?"

"You don't count as supervision," Casey said, just as low.

"No, but you do," he told her. "I invited Trevor over and you are with us because it turns out he's your friend too."

"Why do you even care?" Casey asked.

Derek opened his mouth to say something but decided not to, he just sighed, staring at her. Casey noticed that Derek was standing extremely close to her. When he sighed she could feel his breath on her face. Behind them she heard the front door open and Lizzie and Edwin's voices. She quickly took a step back and turned to look at them.

"Are we interrupting something?" Lizzie asked.

Casey gave a forced smile. "Of course not."

She looked over to see Trevor coming down the stairs. Her eyes traveled back to Derek was now heading back into the kitchen. She followed him with her eyes then her whole body turning to watch him. She let out a sigh. She didn't know what that was. There was no explaining it.

She looked back at Trevor and smiled.

**A/N: I am SOOOO sorry again. But here I am. At first it was I got really sick and then I just kind of neglected it. But enough excuses. I'm starting to show signs of Derek's feelings. Hints- I think that its like Derek doesn't know what he's feeling. But he has some tricks up his sleeves and Casey will see just how much he cares. I'll explain why Trevor gave her a chance. I'm introducing a new character. For any of you who found, or even those who didn't, this fic through my Youtube music video Mirror, I now have a new one with all different songs. All can watch. It shows some things I plan on doing. I tried to keep it along with the fic. Just go to youtube look up my account shalzi17 and it'll be on my page.**


	10. Chapter Ten

**A/N: Hey. So I decided to enter a new character because now that Emily's in the wind from my last chapter, I thought Casey would need someone new and fun in her life. Someone that could help her yet get her in a lot of trouble. Sorry for makin you wait but I wasnt home since Monday morning.**

**Oh, and Thank you all for hanging around and/or starting to read my story. I'm glad you like it. Sometimes I get wrapped up in the writing and loose track but I do read it before I put it up so some chapters need to be rewritten. If you're confused by anything just ask.**

**Inulover4eva thank for for your long comment. It was my first comment while being back and I loved it.**

**Chapter Ten Summary: There's a new girl in town and Casey knows her. You get to see Sam again and what the fall out with Emily became. With a surprise!**

**Chapter Ten**

"Emily!" Casey said, catching her at their locker.

Emily let out a long sigh. "What?"

"Can we talk about what happened?" Casey asked. "I miss you."

Emily slammed their locked closed. "What do you miss? My constant need to talk about unimportant things, or someone not being there to listen to yours."

With that she walked away. Casey didn't dare stop her. She banged her hand against the locker and then put in her combination to open it. The only things inside were her own. Her jaw dropped in shock. She looked in the direction of where Emily had just left. She moved from their locker? Was she really that mad?

"Casey, Casey, bo basey, banana fana fo facey, mi my mo macey, Casey," Casey heard from behind her.

She stood still for a moment before slowly turning to see Grace Anderson, an old friend from her old school. She was the so called bad girl type that her mother hated. Whenever Grace would come around, Nora would become uncomfortable. Basically the way she would become if she were to meet Trevor. Grace was her Trevor, in a non romantic way, back in her old private school.

"Oh my God!" Casey nearly screamed.

Grace laughed. "That's right. _I_ have arrived!"

"What are you doing here?" Casey asked.

"I go here," Grace explained. "We just moved here. Isn't that great? No more preppy little skirts and girls who think knowing nothing is knowing to much. We were the only smart girls in that hell hole, and now we're here."

Casey smiled widely. "I can't believe you're here. Its unbelievable."

"Well, believe it, doll face," Grace told her. "I am not a figure of your imagination. Because no one can ever imagine shoes as perfect as mine."

Casey laughed. "You haven't changed."

Sam passed by them, not even making eye contact with her. She watched him. For some reason it seemed like he was forcing himself to look away. She couldn't help but feel confused. Something was going on there and for the life of her she couldn't figure out what it was. There was only one way to do that… ask him.

"Listen, I have to talk to him," Casey said to Grace.

Grace nodded. "We'll catch up later."

"Sounds good!" Casey said.

"Bye," Grace called after her.

Casey ran down the hallways and got into step with Sam. "You're totally avoiding me and I don't understand why."

"I'm not avoiding you," Sam said.

"You are so," Casey said. "You just walked right passed me like I don't even exist. I thought after we broken up we said we would remain friends. And I mean, that's what we both wanted."

"I don't know, Casey," Sam started to explain. "Its just weird."

"So we can't be friends?" Casey asked.

Sam stopped and turned to look at her. "I don't know."

"I'm loosing everything here, Sam," she told him.

Sam sighed. "I'm sure you're not loosing everything."

"Well, most things," she said slower. "And it would be nice to have friends around."

"Hey," Derek said as he came upon them.

Sam seemed to jump. "Hey. I'm going to go."

Casey watched as he walked away. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Derek said, starting to walk away.

"No!" Casey said, following him on his heels. "That was something."

"Nope," he said.

Casey stopped following him. She was starting to see a pattern. Everyone seemed to be walking away from her today. She stared down at the ground for a moment. When she looked up she saw Derek about ten feet away just staring at her. She looked from him to the ground before turning her back on him and walking away.

Grace was still at her locker when she got there. "You okay?"

"No," Casey said, leaning against the locker next to theirs. "I think I'm loosing it."

Grace shrugged. "Don't worry. Once you hit the bottom, there is only one way you can go."

Casey looked over at her. "Or you could just stay put forever."

"Or that," she smiled.

Casey smiled back at her. "A lot of crap has happened."

"Obviously," Grace tilted her head to the side.

Casey leaned against the locker. "This all sucks. My mom and I aren't talking, Emily hates me, Sam won't talk to me, I think I'm dating a guy that I'm not sure if I even should be dating, and then there's Derek. He's got this whole mysterious thing going on. I don't know what he's thinking or doing."

"Derek?" Grace asked. "Your step brother right?"

Casey nodded and sighed out, "Yeah."

Grace smiled. "Ooh."

"What?" Casey asked.

"The boy that was just looking at you," Grace stated. "The one that interrupted the conversation with the other boy. The way he was looking at you. I wish I had a boy to look at me that way."

Casey stood up straight and looked confused. "What way?"

"Nothing," Grace said. "Can you believe I have to share a locker with someone?"

"Don't change the subject," Casey said. "And you can share mine now that my best friend is no longer my best friend it seems."

"Great!" Grace smiled. "I'll see you later. I've got to get to class. I am so glad we're back together. I've missed you so much."

Casey watched as she walked away from her. What was she talking about? What look? Derek wasn't giving her any special look. He was just looking at her, like a person would look at another person. Nothing special. Grace was always making things up like that. She once told Casey that David Shepard had a major crush on her because he gave Casey a pen for a test. Grace was all about romance and such.

What look?!

Casey looked each way down the hallway. Then she closed her locker and started to walk in the opposite direction of Grace, toward Paul's office. It had been forever sense she had spoken to him. There was so much to discuss. In part, how everyone she knew seemed to want to get far, far away from her. She was beginning to feel like her place in the world was slipping. She herself was slipping. If she could just talk this over with someone who didn't knew everything already, maybe that would just fix things all together. Clear her head and get better.

When she arrived at Paul's office he was with someone else. She didn't want to wait outside his office. She hated that. So instead she just left. Really left. She headed for the school doors without even considering what she was doing. She didn't even turn to see if anyone saw her do it. She didn't even know where she was going. Probably home. No one would be there and she could lounge around watching television. Sure, it wasn't fun, but it wasn't school. The walls weren't closing in there.

When she arrived home she took the back way in. Nora and George were of course at work but sometimes their neighbors were nosey. When she got inside she dropped her things on the kitchen island. The house felt different at this time of the day. She had never gotten in so early. She checked her watch. 11:30. Almost noon.

She could probably get some sleep. Maybe she could just watch some daytime television. She would most definitely catch any phone calls coming in from the school before Nora could. She grabbed the phone and went out to the couch in the living room. Daytime television was cheesy. She should have cut school for something much better then soap operas and sleep. That way if something came up she would have a reliable excuse. She could always say she wasn't feeling good and wasn't thinking straight. Maybe if Nora came home and found her sleeping she would believe that she was actually sick.

She felt sick to her stomach. It could have been nerves catching up with her. She was probably sitting still for to long. There was nothing else to do. Now that she was in the house she couldn't get back out. The neighbor's would see her and tell Nora about the bad older child cutting school to toss a ball at a basket all day. She had to stay put and act like she wasn't there. No loud sounds that lead to investigation. Just sitting there, watching television. Its all there was to do.

At some point she must of fallen asleep. Because at one point Rebecca was telling Josh she didn't love him anymore and the next the phone was ringing and she was face down in a pillow. She looked up and around the room. From the answering machine came George's friend's voice talking about tickets to a game. She looked down at her watch to see it was one o'clock. Not a very long nap but just fine.

She heard keys in the front door. Her heart started racing. She jumped to her feet and headed for the stairs. Half way up them the door was finally open and Derek popped in. She looked back at him for a moment before racing up the stairs. Derek was on her heals. When she went to slam her door closed, he grabbed it with his hand.

"Have you gone crazy?" Casey asked.

"No, but you have," Derek said. "You cut school again."

Casey shrugged. "So did you."

"I'm Derek!" he yelled. "You're Casey."

"Oh right, thanks for reminding me," she said as she turned away from him. "What do you even care for? You've been acting really weird lately."

Derek sighed. "We've both been acting weird."

"Yeah, we have," she agreed.

"Yeah," Derek said. "I just don't understand why you are."

Casey laughed. "I'm breaking out. Free. I need to. The one that doesn't have a reason is you."

"I do," Derek said, just staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

Derek shook his head. "Its nothing."

Casey nodded, knowing not to press on. She just looked down at her hands. They stood there in quiet for a while. She wasn't exactly sure how long. There just seemed like there was nothing to say, yet there was no reason not to stand there. She kept her eyes focused on her hands. She couldn't just stare at him after all. That would just seem strange on so many separate levels. But she decided to look up to see what he was doing, and he was staring at her.

Before she could even think he kissed her, the kind of kiss that sent her whole body off the ground it seemed. He didn't start weak at all, he seemed to throw all of his force into that kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her toward him. But just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. He broke off, stared at her for a moment, and left in a rush.

Casey stood there in shock for a moment. She brought her hand up to her lips, not knowing what to do. Her breath was caught in her throat and she tried her best to get it out. She sat down on her bed. She was definitely feeling sick to her stomach now. But oddly enough, it wasn't because that had just grossed her out. Finally she was able to let out one long slow breath.

_**A/N: **_**Okay, so I know where I'm going from her. Of course the kiss will proove to be problematic because I'm still not going to rush the Dasey. I figure we don't know what's in Derek's head and Casey's got to much going on in hers for them to make an actual connection. So this is just the start of realization over time. So bare with me if the next chapter isnt them making out lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think it showed that Casey kind of feels like she's loosing her mind, with Sam not around, Emily ignoring her, her past Grace knocking on her door, Paul never around and Derek kissing her. Thanks for reading.**


	11. Chapter Eleven

**A/N: I had first written this chapter in a rush and after rereading Chapter Ten before posting it, decided to rewrite the whole thing. But I hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter Eleven Summery: Next day. Not exactly what comes out of the kiss, but the beginning of new things with other people.**

**Chapter Eleven**

Casey hadn't slept all night. When Derek came home later he didn't even bother to look at her. He had this worried looked plastered on his face. But when Edwin asked what was wrong he looked surprised that there was any other person in the room. When he spotted Casey sitting in his chair he headed straight for the stairs.

He was probably next door lying in bed staring at the ceiling like her. She rolled over in bed to see that it was almost seven. The house would be waking up soon. When she pushed herself to sit up she felt dizzy and her stomach a little queasy, most likely from the lack of sleep. To much thinking and not enough dreaming.

She rolled off her bed and started for the shower. As she entered the hallway Derek came out from the bathroom, fully dressed with his hair wet. She looked away from him as if she were ashamed to of even noticed what he looked like. But why was she ashamed? She had done nothing wrong. That kiss was all him. All she did was feel something.

As soon as he was out of the way she rushed into the bathroom and closed the door. She looked over into the mirror, which was kind of fogged up but not to bad, and noticed that her face was very red. Now that she noticed that she could feel how hot it was.

She quickly got her shower and rushed through the hallway to her room to get dressed. She took a blow dryer to her hair before she quickly straightened it. Then she did her make up lightly, not feeling like paying to much attention to it.

Finally she made it downstairs where everyone was ready and eating cereal. She wasn't that hungry. Instead she just took a glass of orange juice, only taking a few sips. Outside they heard a car horn.

"That Mrs. Daniels!" Nora announced loudly. "Lizzie, Edwin get your stuff together. Hurry, hurry. Don't make her wait."

Lizzie and Edwin hoped up, got their backpacks and jackets and headed out the door. Nora grabbed Marti's jacket and put it on her.

"Do you two need a ride to school?" George asked.

"Sure," Derek nodded.

Casey forced a smile at George. "Thanks."

The ride to school was the most silent one yet. She sat in the backseat, slouched down staring out the window. On any normal day she would be fighting with Derek over what radio station they should listen to. Actually, Derek wasn't even changing his father's crummy music station. Poor George looked so confused.

When they pulled up outside of the school Derek hoped out without a word. Casey let out a long breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. She forced another smile toward George.

"Thanks, George," she said before climbing out of the car.

She headed straight for her locker where she found Grace struggling with the combination. She playfully pushed her aside, set in the combination and pulled the locker open.

"You'd act like it was rocket science," Casey smiled.

Grace playfully shoved her back. "At least I know you'll be organized. I would of hated sharing a locker with some messy, icky person."

"You have the greatest vocabulary," Casey joked.

Grace looked at her sideways. "You don't look so good."

"I don't feel so good," Casey told her. "I just want this day to go fast and be over."

"What happened to always happy Casey?" Grace asked.

Casey shrugged. "That's what I'd like to know."

"Oh he's hot," Grace said, looking down the hallway.

Casey turned to see Trevor at his and Derek's locker. "That's Trevor. The guy I'm kind of seeing."

"Good choice," Grace told her.

Casey smiled over at Trevor. "Yeah, but is he the right choice?"

"You're only sixteen," Grace noted, "you don't have to worry about the right choice."

She started putting her things in the locker. Casey stared down at her for a moment. She was right on some levels. Looking for Mister Right at sixteen was probably stupid. She should try and tie herself down so early in life. After all, life could be full of so much more then a relationship. But when its right, its right and when its wrong its wrong. Was Trevor wrong? Was Sam wrong? What was right?

"You never think like that?" Casey asked her. "When you meet a guy, you don't consider how he looks at you, or how he holds your hand, or how you feel when he kisses you for the first time."

Grace shrugged. "Well, yeah, and I guess if the right one was to come along I would go for it. I mean, I wouldn't want to miss him and end up with a loser or anything. But, I'm not going to look for him. He'll find me."

"I wish I could have your outlook on life," Casey sighed.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Grace asked.

Casey shrugged. "To much. I just don't feel like existing right now."

"Casey, Casey, Casey," Grace smiled, taking her by the shoulders, "you think way to much. I'm starting the think my coming here was completely fate."

"What do you mean?" Casey asked.

"Well, you think inside the box," Grace said, making a box with her fingers. "Inside this box things are happy. You're getting good grades, your parents believe you to be a child prodigy, you've got tons of friends and everyone loves you." She undid her hands. "Outside the box everything is messy and nothing makes sense. Its exciting, not knowing what's going to happen next. Things will catch you off guard, people will surprise you. If you're in the box, there's these four walls blocking those surprises. You get me?"

Casey stared at her for a moment and then shook her head. "No."

"Inside bad, outside cool," Grace smiled.

Casey playfully rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. Let me guess, you're here to get me outside my box."

"I'm going to try," Grace nodded.

Casey felt a presence behind her. She turned quickly to see Trevor standing behind her. She couldn't help but smile.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," Casey said. "Uh, this is Grace. She and I went to school together before here. Grace, this is Trevor."

"Hi," Grace smiled. "I'll go."

Grace nudged Casey obviously, making Casey stumble forward a little bit. With one last smile she disappeared into the crowd. Casey turned back to Trevor, still smiling.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said. "Not here, but you know, talk to you."

"What about?" she said, realizing how flirtatious she sounded.

Trevor smirked at her. "Me and you… Maybe us."

Casey felt her face get hot. "You mean, like a couple."

"If you don't want to that's fine, I mean," he started rambling, "I didn't know how to approach you. I mean, I really like you, and I just thought, maybe. If you don't want to that's embarrassing for me, but I'll get over it. I also didn't know if I should approach you or just let it happen but…"

Casey couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, I wasn't expecting you to laugh at me," he said, also smiling.

"No, no," she said, trying to gather her words, "I'm not laughing at you."

She was hoping before to start something with him. It had kind of slipped her mind after Derek had kissed her. All her thoughts seem consumed by that moment. How she felt, what she thought, why it happened, what was he thinking? She didn't forget about Trevor, but she had forgotten what to say to Trevor. To say yes, or to say she would think about it.

"We'll try," Casey said, nodding, a small smile on her lips.

Trevor seemed to cheer up. "By the way this was very hard to do so I'm glad you didn't turn me down."

"I figured," Casey said.

He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before walking away. Casey let out a long breath, unable to rid the smile off her face. He could always make her smile, and he seemed to be able to make her forget things that made her feel crazy. She turned around to close her locker and noticed that Derek was at his, staring at her. The smile fell from her face immediately. He slammed his locker closed and walked in the opposite direction of her.

Before she could think the bell rang through the hallways. She closed her locker and rushed down the hallway to her first period class.

**A/N: Casey dating Trevor.. but wait. Before you all go commenting and stoning me for dragging her further away from Derek and/or for most likely hurting Trevor I have ideas. So bare with me. I don't want Dasey to be Dasey right away. What good is a story without Drama. And I am trying to make Grace this level headed yet crazy teen. Like I was when I was in high school haha. Hope you enjoyed. Comments. Send me love. Tell me what you think might happen. I enjoy speculation. Oh and its a little shorter then my last. Sorry.  
**


	12. Chapter Twelve

**A/N: Hey, sorry bout the little wait there. Got caught up at work and everything. So sorry if this chapter isn't up to standards haha.**

**Chapter Twelve Summery: Not sure how to describe this one. Derek and Casey fight at Dinner and an unexpected visitor comes to town.**

**Chapter Twelve**

Dinner had never been so quiet. Derek sat across from Casey pushing his fork through his food, but never once did he take a bite. Everyone at the table must of felt the tension because they seemed to stay quiet. Nora and George tried to make conversation with small talk about everyone's days, but nothing picked up. After all, dinner usually consisted of the recent arguments of Casey and Derek.

"So, uh, Casey," Nora cautiously started, "anything new happen in school today?"

"If that's a way of asking if I was there, then yes, we learned stuff," Casey said, also pushing her fork through her mashed potatoes.

Nora sighed. "I just mean that I heard that Grace is attending your school. Her mother gave me a call. Why didn't you tell me?"

"You don't like Grace," Casey shrugged.

"Of course I like Grace," Nora seemed to defend herself. "You two were never apart and I never said a word about not liking her."

Lizzie was smiling from beside Casey. "Really, Grace lives near us again?"

"Yeah!" Casey cheered. "She already says she can't wait to see you."

"Maybe I'll invite her and her mom to dinner," Nora smiled. "That sounds like a great idea."

"Well, while we're inviting over Casey's friends, why not her boyfriend," Derek seemed to perk up.

Nora looked confused. "Boyfriend?"

"She's dating Trevor," Derek said. "Yeah, that boy she ditched school with. That's the one."

"Der-reck!" Casey snapped.

"Are you really dating him?" Nora asked.

"Is Grace cute?" Edwin asked Derek.

Derek shrugged with an impressed look on his face. Casey noticed and kicked him under the table.

"Casey!" Nora yelled for her attention. "Are you dating that boy?"

Casey crossed her arms and sat back in her seat. "So what? He's a nice guy. I was having a bad day and he let me have a good one. It was once. You can't judge him on that."

"Can we judge him on his eye make up?" Derek asked.

Casey sat up straight. "Oh right, well at least he's smart and nice unlike you. You're nasty and a pig and you're a jerk. And at least I have better taste in relationships then you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Derek snapped.

Casey pretended to shrug. "I don't know, if it walks like a duck and quakes like a duck, chances are you dated it and it ended badly."

"ENOUGH!" George yelled finally as Derek went to respond. "Now I don't want to hear another peep from either of you for the rest of this dinner."

Derek dropped her fork onto his plate and sat back, crossing his arms. "She started it."

"What is this the first grade?!" Casey yelled back at him.

"Casey! Derek!" Nora yelled.

Casey crossed her arms and sat back as well.

"Now one more word out of both of you and I'll send you to bed," Nora said.

Casey looked at her with confusion. She hadn't heard that since she was Lizzie's age. She went to open her mouth to say something but Nora shushed her quickly.

"No," Casey said, "I would rather be sixteen and in bed at seven then spend another second at this table with _him_."

She jumped up from the table and headed upstairs to her bedroom, each step stomping her feet like a child. If she was going to treated like a child she might as well act like a child. Then she slammed her door shut behind her and collapsed onto her bed.

Actually she hadn't thought this one through. It was only seven at night, she wasn't nearly tired enough to actually fall asleep. She could probably check her email, maybe grab the phone and give Grace or Trevor a call. No. No calling people. Nora would be at her door in a second. She only had her computer for outside contact.

She signed into her screen name and noticed that Grace was signed in as well. An instant message popped up.

**Grace: **My mom called your mom.

**Casey: **My mom wants to invite you and your mom to dinner.

**Grace: **Fun. What you up to?

**Casey: **I've been sent to bed.

**Grace: **… was that a typo?

**Casey: **No, I was literally sent to bed early. Derek and I were fighting.

**Grace: **Sexual tension.

**Casey: **NO!

**Grace: **haha

**Casey: **Honesty?

**Grace: **Honesty.

**Casey: **Trevor makes me smile, and Trevor makes me laugh.

**Grace: **Keep going.

**Casey: **I think I'm using him.

**Grace: **How do you mean?

**Casey: **I just have this feeling. I mean, there's signs that… I don't know. Its all stupid.

**Grace: **Never ignore signs.

**Casey: **Its not right. But I think if I wait, it could be right.

**Grace: **So how are you using him?

**Casey: **Its just a feeling.

There was a knock on her door.

**Casey: **Got to go. See you tomorrow.

She turned off her screen and jumped up from her seat. "Yeah?"

Derek opened the door. "Your computer is not your bed. And just so you know, I was sent to bed because of your little fiasco down there."

"Forgive me for not feeling bad," Casey said, crossing her arms.

She grabbed her pajamas off her bed and pushed past him to get into the hallway. When she got into the bathroom she quickly got changed, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. She couldn't believe she was going through this process already. It seemed so ridicules. But she already said she would go to bed. Knowing Nora she would be up in a couple minutes checking to make sure that her and Derek with both sound asleep.

When she came from her room Derek was in his with his door closed. She went back into her room and started to toss her hair into a ponytail. Quickly she noticed that her computer screen was back on. She knew she turned it off. Grace had sent her one last message saying goodbye. But she could of sworn she turned the screen off to avoid getting yelled at by Nora.

She looked toward her doorway and shook her head. Derek would of never read her instant messages. That was a new low. She shook the idea from her head and figured she was just going crazy.

She grabbed her iPod off the desk and put the headphones in her ears. She could at least act like she was asleep and listen to music. So she turned off her light and climbed under her covers, leaving them over her head. She turned on her Recently played list and closed her eyes.

The next thing she knew someone was shaking her awake. She turned over quickly and squinted at the day light. Derek was standing over her saying something. She grabbed her iPod and turned off her music.

"What?" she asked. "Its Saturday."

"Your grandma is here," Derek said. "I was sent to get you."

"My grandma is dead," she told him.

"You have two," Derek noted.

Casey looked surprise. "What is Nana doing here? Did my mom know? Oh my mom must be flipping."

She jumped up out of bed and started to the door. She quickly stopped. She couldn't go downstairs not showered and dressed. Nana was tough. She liked order and nice things. If she saw her with her hair tangled and a mess and in her pajamas she would die of a heart attack. Its bad enough she caught her sleeping past ten in the morning.

"Listen," Casey started to tell Derek, "tell them I need to freshen up a bit and I'll be down in a couple moments."

Derek chocked a laugh. "You need more then a couple minutes."

"Moments!" Casey corrected him. "Say moments, she likes moments."

She ran into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She had to wash her hair, make sure to have it dried completely, maybe put some clips into it, and dress in her most sweetest outfit in at least, AT LEAST, twenty minutes. She had done it before. This wasn't Nana's first surprise visit. Actually she had done it this way forever. She figured when Nora married George they got away from that. Its not like Nora had to impress her anymore, she wasn't married to Nana's son.

In exactly twenty minutes she was done. She started to run downstairs but stopped into a walk. A lady never ran. She hated all of Nana's silly little rules growing up, and when she wasn't around, she never bothered to listen to them. Then when she popped up at the door they came out for a nice little show.

"Nana," Casey smiled sweetly.

Nana stood up from the couch where she sat with Nora, George and Lizzie. "So nice of you to join us, Casey."

"I had to make myself perfect for my Nana," Casey smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"See, George," Nana started, "this is how your little girl should be acting."

George forced a smile and looked toward Nora with wide eyes.

Nana turned back to Casey. "Lizzie tells me you have a new boyfriend."

"Does she?" Casey said, trying not to throw an angry look Lizzie's way. "Well-"

"I must meet him," Nana interrupted. "You'll invite him to dinner tonight."

Casey forced a smile. "Of course."

She wanted Nana to just leave. She couldn't invite Trevor. Nana would judge him to no end. She had to warn him, make him wear a suit and tie or something. Trevor didn't seem like the kind of guy that wore a suit and tie. She couldn't even imagine him having one in his closet.

How would she pull this one off?

**A/N: Review.. Judge me.. send me love. Nana will be in the next several chapters. Also sorry if its to short.  
**


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**A/N: Hey hey, sorry for the little wait again. I got caught up. But I am still writing little by little and trying my hardest not to do what I did the last time.**

**Zuzzeroo: Yes this is Dasey. I'm getting there. **

**funnechick: I'm actually trying to think up how Nana will take to Trevor. That's why I shoved in this chapter because I still don't know.**

**Chapter Thirteen Summery: Casey begs Trevor to come to dinner clean cut and looking nice, but will he? Derek makes her a bet that he won't. Little Dasey moment toward the end.**

**Chapter Thirteen**

Casey snuck upstairs, excusing herself to the bathroom. She grabbed the phone from the receiver in the hallway on her way. She closed the door and sat on the floor against it. She dialed Trevor's number and waited for an answer.

"Hello?" Trevor answered.

"Hey," Casey whispered, "its me."

"Why are we whispering?" he asked in the same tone.

"Because Nana will hear me," she told him. "I don't have much time. Nana has invited you, well demanded that you come to dinner tonight. She just showed up and Lizzie told her about you. I know that we've only been official for a day and everything-"

"I'll come," Trevor told her.

Casey sighed. "My Nana is kind of old fashioned. Is there anyway that you can be you without being you tonight."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, wear something like a sweater and nice dress pants, and well, no eyeliner," Casey said.

Trevor was silent for a moment. "Don't you think your Nana will like me for who I am because you do."

"No," Casey said bluntly. "She won't like you for who you are, she will like you for the you that she already thinks you are. For me, just do this. She only comes to town once in a blue moon and she's tough and please."

"I'll see what I can do," Trevor told her.

"Casey?" Lizzie said from outside the door.

"Got to go," Casey said quickly. "Seven o'clock."

She hung up and jumped to her feet, opening the door with a smile. Lizzie rushed into the bathroom and closed the door.

"I almost forgot what a witch she is," Lizzie said. "She asked me to come get you so I went to yell for you, and she told me that a lady never yells. Oh and for you, a lady never takes to long in the bathroom and leave her guests for so long in waiting."

Casey crossed her arms. "The lady stuff is getting old."

"A lady probably never crosses her arms," Lizzie laughed.

"I don't need to be a lady in my bathroom," Casey told him.

"How long do you think she'll be here for?" Lizzie said.

Casey shrugged. "Who knows. Lets go before she sends mom up."

She took Lizzie by the wrist and pulled her down the stairs. Nana was sitting by herself on the couch. She looked over into the kitchen to see Nora and George in the kitchen looking completely annoyed. She completely understood why. Casey always knew that Nana knew how to get under Nora's skin. When she was younger she pretended not to notice.

"Casey, there you are," Nana said, standing up to greet her. "I was beginning to believe you fell in."

Nana laughed at her own joke. Casey and Lizzie looked at each other with their eyebrows raised.

"Now," Nana began, "sweetie, tell me all about your new beau."

Casey looked confused. "My new what?"

"Your boyfriend," Nana smiled. She took her hand to make her sit down. "Lizzie, we could use some iced tea."

Lizzie sighed. "Okay."

"Don't slouch, darling," Nana told her.

Lizzie stood up straight as she went to go into the kitchen.

"So, his name is Trevor," Nana started.

Casey forced a smile. "We've only been dating a day, Nana. Its all new."

"Tonight we'll see if he's a keeper," Nana smiled.

She heard footsteps on the stairs and turned to see Derek coming down. He was dressing a nice sky blue button up shirt and dress pants, his top tucked in and his hair dressed. Her jaw dropped. He actually looked nice for once.

"Pick up your jaw," Nana whispered.

Casey quickly looked over at her, feeling her face get hot.

"Derek, you look very nice," Nana smiled.

"Well, someone told me you were worth dressing up for," Derek said.

Nana chuckled. "You must be a ladies man."

"I only dress like this for the good ones," he smiled, hinting that it was obviously for her.

Nana laughed harder. Casey looked between them. Maybe he did have a way with women after all. Nana wasn't even that fond of her own son. Not to Casey memory of them together anyway. Her Nana would never fake a laugh for anyone. She had to be truly flattered by Derek's ways.

"You make me feel young again," she said, climbing to her feet.

Casey couldn't help but be confused, and let it show on her face.

"Let me go see what's keeping those drinks," Nana said as she walked toward the kitchen.

Casey jumped to her feet and waited for Nana to disappear. "I don't think I've seen her smile that much in the same minute."

"What can I say?" Derek smirked. "Grandmothers love me."

"Lets just hope they love Trevor too," Casey said, crossing her arms.

Derek looked down at his feet. "Do you really expect the kid to show up here looking all swanky and ready to impress dear old Nana? I mean, Trevor's the kind of guy who believe that how he is stands for something. What your asking him to do is not stand for it. Do you expect him not to?"

"Its only for one night," Casey said.

"Would you give up what you believe for even a night?" he asked.

Casey thought for a second then shook it out of her head. "I'm not asking him not to believe what he believe I'm just asking him to dress nice. He can believe whatever he wants to, and tell me Nana that, he just has to look how she thinks he should look."

"Twenty bucks says he shows up here tonight looking as always," Derek said, "eyeliner and all."

"I'm not going to bet you," she snapped.

Derek laughed. "You know I'm right."

"Fine," Casey said, "you're on. Twenty bucks says he shows up here tonight exactly how I asked him to."

Derek smirked and shook his head before backing up and heading up the stairs. Casey bit the inside of her cheek. Things seemed to go back to normal with him after the "incident." She didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Nora staid in the kitchen until dinner. She found it to be a safe place from Nana's constant need to ruin her mood. George would pretend to see if she needed help every so often, but the kids were all trapped, all except Derek who staid in his room and Marti who was playing in her own room. Edwin and Lizzie sat next to each other on the couch and tried to stay quiet and Casey took all of Nana's questions.

"What time did you tell Trevor to come?" Nana asked.

"Seven," Casey told her.

"Excuse me for a moment, I need to use the ladies room," Nana told them as she stood up and headed up the stairs.

Just as she went out of view the doorbell rang. It was 6:45. That couldn't be Trevor. He was to early. Fifteen minute early. Nana wouldn't like that. She liked it when people were on time, not early, not late. Right on the dot. Casey jumped up, and cautiously answered the door, peaking up the stairs to make sure she wasn't there. When she turned back around she saw Trevor, full black outfit, eyeliner and all, like Derek said he would.

"What are you wearing?!" Casey nearly yelled.

Trevor entered the house. "I thought about it and I thought about it and I think that what I wear is only a part of me and I think I can make your grandmother realize that."

"Is that what you thought?" Casey asked with an obvious attitude. "Did you also think you don't know my Nana? I mean, she is not a normal thinker."

Derek appeared on the steps with a smirk on his face. "Hey, Trevor."

"Hey," Trevor said before turned back to look at Casey.

Behind him Derek shrugged as a silent, "I told you so." Casey gave him a dirty look as she crossed her arms.

"It'll be fine," Trevor told her.

Marti came down behind Derek and one look at Trevor let out a high pitched scream. Derek picked her up from around her waste and covered her mouth.

"Marti, its okay," Casey told her. "Trevor's a friend."

Right after the scream Nana started back down the stairs. Casey covered her face with her one hand and shook her head. This situation couldn't get any worse. Without even thinking she ran up the stairs. Nana watched her in surprise as she passed her. When she got in her room she ran into her closet, stuffed a shirt sleeve in her mouth and screamed. She slid down to the floor, the shirt coming off the hanger and coming with her.

The closet door opened and Derek stared down at her. She tossed the shirt across the closet and hugged her knees. He sat down beside her.

"You owe me twenty dollars," he said.

Casey gave him a warning look. "Derek."

"Sorry," he smiled. "Its just that, I'm kind of broke."

Casey smiled and shook her head. "Why would he show up like that? I mean, I asked him not to."

"Guys like that, its all about what they have to say," Derek informed her. "Like I said earlier."

Casey leaned her head back. "I have to make statements to but there's a time and a place. I made it obvious that this was not the place."

"Well, she's not this grandmother," Derek noted.

Casey looked him up and down. "She's not yours either."

"Good point," he shrugged. "But if you're going to date him you have to realize that that's the way he is. Its not like Sam. Its completely different actually. To be honest your first official date as a couple shouldn't be this one."

Casey smiled. "I know, I know. Nana's going to hate him."

"Nana might like him because you do," Derek shrugged.

Casey stared at him for a moment before lifting her head. "I don't get it."

"Get what?" he asked.

"You kissed me," Casey said as low as she could, "and now you're giving me relationship advice."

Derek ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, I don't know what that was. I mean, I don't know what I mean."

"You read my instant message," Casey noted.

Derek's eyes went wide. "No. What? What message?"

"You're caught," she smiled. "Why did you?"

"Honestly," Derek said, "I don't know."

She stared at the ground then back up at him. "We should get back downstairs."

"Yeah," he agreed.

They both climbed to their feet, Casey starting out of the room first. She turned quickly and kissed him very lightly on the cheek. Then she stepped back and smiled at him before heading back down the stairs. Trevor was sitting on the couch with Nana while everyone else was no where to be seen. Casey walked over to them an sat next to Trevor.

"You okay?" he asked.

Casey smiled. "Yeah.. Yes. I'm fine."

Derek came down the stairs carrying Marti in his arms. When he put her down she ran for the kitchen screaming, "When's dinner! I'm hungry!"

**A/N: Hope you liked. Reviews are sweet! Keep them coming. In the next chapter will be the actual dinner, and a secret will be revealed.**


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**A/N: Okay, so thanks for all the reviews, keep them coming. **

**  
Chapter Fourteen Summery: Grace shows up unexpectedly and Casey forced her to stay for dinner to lighten the mood.. But the mood is defiantly not lightened. What happens when Marti knows something and opens her big mouth?**

**  
Chapter Fourteen**

Nora came from the kitchen informing everyone that dinner was ready. Nana stood up from the couch and took the seat at the end of table wear Nora usually sat. Before moving Casey just held her face in her hands and let out soothing breathes. She felt Trevor get up from beside her and heard Marti cheering about hoe it was finally time to eat. Then she heard a knock on the door. She jumped up, seeing a quick escape, and opened the door to see Grace smiling.

"Hey," Grace smiled. "I was just-"

Casey shoved her outside more and then closed the door behind her. "I can't do it."

"Okay, I'm sure if I knew what you were talking about I could help," Grace said.

Casey took a deep breath, the cold air filling her lungs. "I can't be in there and yet I can't not be in there. Trevor's in there, with my Nana and-"

"Whoa, Nana is in town?" Grace said.

Casey nodded and then suddenly she smiled. "Are you hungry?"

"So you've got the what, nine people in there and you want to add one more?" Grace laughed. "Your dinner table isn't nearly big enough. Maybe I'll just-"

Casey grabbed her by the wrist and as she pulled her inside, Grace let a small scream escape her mouth. She stumbled as she Casey let go of her and then covered her mouth shocked by how squeaky her own voice could be. Casey just smiled at her.

"Grace will be joining us," Casey announced.

Grace shook her head. "No, no, its fine."

"Grace doesn't have a choice," Casey said lower so that only Grace could hear her.

Grace sighed. "Fine, dinner sounds great."

Casey smiled happily and clapped her hands together. "But before that, you should wash up, I'll show you to the bathroom."

"Well I could just-" Grace started but before she could finish Casey had a hold on her wrist and was dragging her up the stairs. When they got to the top Casey swung her around so that she was in front of her. "Okay, so the grabbing and the pulling, its got to stop."

"Nana knows you," Casey said, "so maybe with you being here she won't talk to Trevor that much. Maybe she'll talk to you, ask how you are. I mean, it's the only thing I can think of."

"Trevor's a cool guy," Grace shrugged, "I can't see why Nana wouldn't like him."

"Did you see what he showed up wearing?" Casey whispered.

"Not really, you kind of yanked me up the stairs," Grace noted. "Oh! Oh no! What about rebellion? You can't rebel against Nana. I mean, your mom is one thing but Nana is a totally different story."

Casey shrugged. "I have no idea."

"This isn't going to work," Grace said, pacing.

"It'll be fine," Casey said, "we'll just put it on hold."

"No!" Grace said, stopping in front of her again. "We cant just put it on hold. I mean, then it'll look staged."

"Who cares-" Casey started but Grace grabbed her by the shoulders.

"This is what we're going to do," Grace stared.

Suddenly Derek appeared at the top of the stairs with his arms crossed. Grace still had a hold on Casey shoulders as they waited for him to say what he wanted.

"Yeah?" Casey asked with a small attitude. "We're trying to have a conversation."

Derek nodded and smirk. "And Nana is trying to have dinner."

Grace let her arms fall and turned into the bathroom to wash her hands. Casey crossed her arms, looking over at Derek. He leaned against the wall, scratching his temple.

"I had to pay Marti twenty bucks," he told her.

Casey looked at him with confusion. "That's a lot of money for a seven year old."

"Yeah well-" he started but Grace popped back out of the bathroom.

"Lets go," Grace smiled as she started toward the stairs.

Casey followed and said to Derek, "Come on."

Derek mumbled something but she couldn't hear what he said. When they got downstairs everyone was in their seat and their were three empty ones. Casey was in between Trevor and Nana, of course, and a free one next to Trevor for Grace.

"Sorry for imposing," Grace said kindly.

Nana smiled sweetly. "Gracie, you could never impose."

Casey raised an eyebrow to Nana without her noticing. She forgot how much Nana actually liked Grace. Grace, even though known to many as a wild child, knew exactly what to say to parents. It's actually a wonder why Nora disliked her so much. She never did anything wrong toward her. She would smile and be polite. Grace had her ways but they were useless toward Nora. She shrugged and started to eat.

"Now, Trevor, what exactly are your intentions with my granddaughter?" Nana bluntly asked.

Both Casey and Derek chocked on their food. She noticed how Trevor had stayed completely calm and how Grace raised her eyebrow to Derek's reaction. Casey grabbed her drink to help clear her throat.

"Nana," she started.

Trevor just smiled and patted Casey hand. "Its okay. Actually, its all new, but I wouldn't date someone if I didn't see it going somewhere."

Again Derek chocked on his food, this time drawing everyone's attention. He quickly drank his water then looked around at everyone, forcing a smile. "Went down wrong." He shoved his hand in front of his face and kept his eye on his plate.

Nan ignored him. "Well, that's very nice Trevor. How about your future? What are you planning on doing?"

"Well, I'm hoping to become a lawyer," he answered. "I'm really keen on rights and standing up for what you believe it. I want to protect all that."

Nana seemed please by his answer. "My son is a lawyer, Casey's father. I'm sure he would love to give you pointers."

"That would be great," Trevor smiled sweetly.

Nana didn't smile. She always seemed to keep a stern face when it came to interrogating. Casey noticed her face lighten up a bit as she moved down the table to Grace.

"How about you Grace?" she asked. "How is everything going in your life?"

Grace shrugged. "I don't really have any future plans as of yet, but I figure when I get to college I'll experiment."

"I don't like carrots," Marti said suddenly.

George smiled at her. "You don't have to eat them."

"Of course she does," Nana chimed in. "Marti, you should be grateful for everything you have on your plate. Some children go without food for days."

"But I don't want carrots!" Marti yelled.

"If you eat your carrots you can have an extra scoop of ice cream," Nora tried to reason from beside her.

Marti shook her head and yelled louder, "No!"

Casey noted the obvious disappointment on Nana's face. She was judging George's skills as a parents… Like Casey had done. Always judging him on how Derek, Edwin and even Marti acted like animals. Poor George. She never realized how rude she was actually being.

"Casey kissed Derek!" suddenly was heard through the room.

"What?!" Lizzie and Edwin exclaimed.

Again Derek chocked on his food, coughing uncontrollably and tried to yell between them, "Marti!"

"I don't want carrots!" she continued screaming.

Casey's mouth was wide open. She turned and looked at Trevor and noticed behind him that Grace was grinning. She noted that Nora and George looked mortified, Lizzie, Edwin and Nana all looking completely confused.

"I didn't," Casey defended, maybe to slowly. "I wouldn't."

"Yes you did!" Marti yelled, abandoning arguing about carrots. "In the hallway!"

Casey shook her head, feeling bad for lying the Marti. "No, Marti, I didn't."

"Derek gave me twenty dollars not to tell!" Marti said.

Derek crossed his arms over his chest and sat back. "I want it back."

Casey's eyes went wide and she covered her face. "Oh… my God."

"Wait, you really kissed him?!" Nora nearly shouted.

Casey felt terrified. "On the cheek!"

"I knew this could happen," Nora said her face in her hands.

"Knew what could happen?" Casey and Derek asked in unison.

"Nothing is happening," Casey told her.

Trevor finally spoke up to Casey. "You kissed him?"

"On the cheek," she said calmly. "The cheek."

He let out a long sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm very confused."

"You weren't even supposed to date her!" Derek snapped suddenly.

"Supposed to?" Casey asked, confused. "What does that mean?"

Derek re-crossed his arms and leaned further downward in his chair. "Nothing."

"What does that mean?" Casey demanded, looking back and forth between Derek and Trevor.

"I want ice cream!" Marti yelled.

"Lizzie, Edwin, Marti," George started, "upstairs."

Without a word but Lizzie and Edwin ran for their rooms with Marti on their heels.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. McDonald, but would you excuse us," George said as he and Nora stood up. "Derek, Casey, kitchen."

They both climbed to their feet and followed them. George calmly closed the doors behind them. Casey leaned against the island and pushed her hair out of her face, waiting for what they had to say.

"Okay, so what happened?" George said, still remaining calm.

"Nothing happened," Casey told him. "I was upset, and Derek calmed me down, and I kissed him on the cheek. It was innocent."

Nora was rubbing her temples and George turned quickly away from everyone. Casey took the moment to look over at Derek. He had his arms crossed and was avoiding eye contact with everybody.

"Maybe you guys need a break from each other," Nora said suddenly.

Both Casey and Derek seemed to straighten up by this statement. George turned back around and looked at Nora with the same confusion.

Nora sighed. "Winter break is coming up. Maybe it would be a good idea if Casey spent some time with her father."

"No," Casey said, shaking her head frantically.

"This isn't an option," Nora told her. "You've been acting up for several weeks, you've been acting like a completely different person and I think you need a break. You need to go somewhere and calm down. I've already talked to your father and-"

"You already have it planned out!" Casey yelled. "Are you serious?!"

Nora sighed. "This isn't up for argument, Casey. Winter break is in a week and a half, and you're going."

"Nora," George started, "we can handle this, you don't have to send her away."

Casey stood there, her mouth open, in complete shock. She didn't know how to react. Scream, argue, refuse. But she couldn't even talk. Her mother was literally sending her away to New York for two weeks. She actually didn't want to deal with her. How was that even possible? She couldn't wrap her mind around it. She pulled it together for a second and stormed out of the kitchen.

"Casey," she heard Derek say as she passed him.

Casey ran straight up the stairs to her room. She sat on her bed and couldn't help it as she started to cry. The door slowly opened and Grace stepped inside, closing the door behind her. She sat down next to her and stayed quiet, letting Casey gather her thoughts.

"What happened?" Grace finally asked.

Casey sighed. "She's sending me to New York for winter break. I don't have a choice. I mean, it seems like nothing. Its only two weeks right? But she doesn't want to deal with me, so she's sending me off to let dad deal with me."

"Wow," Grace said. "That dinner was hella eventful."

Casey just smiled at her. "That was way to much in an hour."

"Was it even an hour?" Grace asked.

"I don't even know," Casey said.

**A/N: Okay so the secret didn't happen like I wanted it to because as I wrote, my mind kept going on something else, but I did reveal part of the secret. Tell me if you caught it… It'll be fully revealed once the story line hits me right. I want to know if anyone realized what it is though hehehe… Reviews are nice lol.**


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**A/N: Okay, so thanks for all the reviews, keep them coming. Sorry it took me so long. I had to do this system restore and i lost the story so i had to rewrite, so this is unedited and raw LOL. Only draft. I probably would of changed thing but i believe you guys have waited long enough. So sorry if its, you know, bad, but I think Dasey shippers will like it LOL.**

**  
Chapter Fifteen Summery: Later that night after the dinner, Casey and Derek finally get a chance to chat.**

**  
Chapter Fifteen**

Nana took over Casey's room, claiming that Lizzie's bed was to bumpy and she would never sleep in a basement. Casey was forced downstairs onto the couch. She pulled a couple extra blankets and pillows downstairs with her and dropped them onto the floor next to the couch. Nora came downstairs a couple moments after her as she started to put the sheet over the cushions.

"Well, everyone's all settled," Nora told her. "Do you need help?"

"I'm fine," Casey snapped.

Nora nodded. "Okay, well I'll see you in the morning."

She waited for a morning, waiting for Casey to answer back before she started into the kitchen and downstairs to her and George's bedroom. Casey threw the two pillows she had brought down with her onto the couch and gave a dirty look to the kitchen door. Last thing she wanted to do was talk to Nora. She wanted to hide in her bedroom but of course she couldn't. Was it so much to ask to have a private room where she could collect her thoughts?

She collapsed onto the couch and reached for the phone. She hadn't gotten to talk to Trevor before he left. Grace and him pretty much took off after Grace left her room. She was pretty sure it was probably over. Who would want to go on after that? If he wanted to it would surprise her more then anything in this world.

Just then Derek came downstairs. She rethought her last statement and shrugged a bit. No, Derek's kissing her was the most surprising thing in her world actually. Trevor wanting to continue the relationship would probably come second.

"What?" Derek asked.

She over to see him watching her. She probably had her thoughts written all over her face. She gave a nervous smile and just shrugged it off.

Derek looked confused. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Casey said, holding up the phone so he could see it. "I was just going to call Trevor."

Derek nodded and looked at his feet. "Oh, okay. See you tomorrow."

Casey watched as he turned and headed up the stairs. She suddenly felt guilty for mentioning Trevor. He seemed to become upset by the mention of his name. But why would she feel guilty? Whatever Derek was going through didn't have to be her problem.

She quickly dialed Trevor's number and then hung it up. She threw the phone down beside her. Eleven at night. She knew Trevor would be awake but she didn't know what she would possibly say to him. She could just go right off her head, but she knew that wasn't a possibility. So she reached forward and took a pen and paper off the table. She could just write everything she had to say down and have a detailed list of everything. Two copies should do it, one for if the conversation went well, and another for if it didn't go so well.

Somehow she found herself writing to Derek. She started with the kiss and one draft on how it meant nothing and how they were caught in the moment, and the next about how wrong it was anyway and that it could never happen again. Then she started on how nice he could be to her sometimes and yet so mean at others. She also wrote about what was said at dinner and what "You weren't supposed to date her" could've possibly meant. She wrote about Trevor and how she thinks he's a good guy and could possibly be really good for her. She ended it with a nice sentence on how she hopes they can be friends and no longer enemies as they have been in the past.

She folded it up and put it in her pocket. She looked over at the time. A little past midnight. Had she really been writing for that long. She jumped to her feet and decided to check if Derek was awake. No time like the present. She headed up the stairs as quietly as she could and noticed the light coming from under his door. So she knocked and waited.

The door swung open. "Yeah?"

"Can we talk?" she asked.

Derek sighed and moved aside to let her in. "What's up?"

"Okay, well," she started then pulled out the paper. She noticed him smile and playfully roll his eyes a little. She ignored it and started reading. "Derek, clearly there is something strange going on between you and me. Before you kissed me, you were acting unlike yourself and actually being a genuinely nice person to me. After you kissed me, you seemed to become you're old self again. I think that it is very clear that you have unsaid feelings about the subject and I think now would be a good time to bring them up." She stopped and waited for a planned response, he just lifted an eyebrow at her. So she tried to continue on her own. "Okay, uh."

She didn't know where to take it from there. She looked at the two drafts she had. She was supposed to go off of Derek's reaction but he wasn't giving her anything. He just stood there, watching her as if she were crazy, and yet expecting her to continue.

"This is the part when you say something," Casey told him.

Derek smirked and shrugged his shoulder. "No, no, continue."

"Well, I'm not really prepared for if you say nothing," Casey stated.

"What are my choices?" he asked.

Casey frowned. "This isn't a joke."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he said, waving his hands. "Continue."

She flipped through the papers. Sense he wouldn't give her anything the feed off of she would just have to move onto another topic. "Well, uh, okay. Our relationship consists of constantly making the other unhappy-"

"I don't want to make you unhappy," he said suddenly as if he were surprised she would say such a thing.

Casey stared at him for a moment then looked down at her notes. "Uh, you and I don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to being nice to each other. At some points we are able to help each other out but at other times all we can do is make each other miserable-" Derek took the papers from her hand. "Hey!"

Derek read a few lines to himself. "Lets see what my options were."

"Der-rek," Casey stretched his name. "Give that back."

He held the papers away from her and started to read, "There's_: What happened was wrong and can never happen again. _And then there's: _We were obviously both caught in the moment._" Casey crossed her arms, feeling her face getting hot. "That's all I get?"

"That's all there is," Casey noted.

He turned his head to the side as he looked at herm then looked back at the papers. "Oh, and of course some stuff about Trevor."

"Here's you being mean again," Casey snapped.

"What's so great about him anyway?" Derek asked, giving her the papers back.

Casey rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Try me," he said, collapsing onto his computer chair.

"I don't have to," she said in a sing song kind of way.

"Okay then," Derek said, shrugging it off.

Casey stomped her foot. "Fine! If you must know. He's really sweet, and nice, and always has the right things to say. He never once got on my nerves. Plus, he knows what I like, and we have a lot in common. On our first date he took me to a carnival and me and him had the run of the place. It was amazing. He's never once made me sad or make me hate myself. All he ever does is make me smile and laugh and feel good about myself. Actually, come to think about it, he's the exact opposite of you."

"Right, and I am such a bad guy," Derek said, standing back up with his arms crossed.

Casey gave him the cockiest look she could give. "You can be."

"Oh I see, you came up here to judge me as usual," he said.

"Me? Judge you?" Casey said, defensively. "You are always the one doing the judging."

"Ha!" he nearly yelled.

Casey looked alarmed and hushed him. "Would you be quiet."

"Whatever," he said.

"It was a mistake coming up here," Casey noted. "For a second I thought me and you could actually have a conversation, but I was wrong."

"You usually are," he snapped.

"Fine!" Casey stomped her foot again before quickly turning and starting to the door.

"Wait," he stopped her.

Casey stopped before reaching for the door, re-crossed her arms and turned back to face him. "What?"

He held out the papers for her to take. She looked at him for a moment, expecting some kind of trick or something she had missed when she turned away. Then she reached out and took the papers from him in one quick snatch.

"Thanks," she said.

She turned away from him once again and then left, closing the door quietly behind her. She half leaned against it, not wanting to lean all of her pressure against it, incase it would creak or make a sounds. Last thing she wanted was for him to know she stayed out there. She let a long breath escape her lips. That was harder then she thought it would be. Before going in there she thought it would be like earlier in her closet, nice and sweet. She should of just known better. Derek isn't one to be sweet and kind. Earlier was one of those strange occurrences. Along with the several other times of course. Like when she cut her hand.

She held up her hand at the healed over cut. That was one of those nice moments of his. The way he spoke, the way he wrapped her hand, how gentle and nice he was about it-

Her thought were interrupted when the door behind her opened suddenly. She stumbled backward, knocking right into him. She nearly screamed in fright and she felt a hand cover her mouth.

"Shush!" Derek demanded. "What are you doing?"

Casey pushed his hand away and turned to face him. "Oh, right because standing outside your door is just completely not normal." As soon as she said it she realized how ridicules she sounded. She felt her face get hot and she looked down at the floor, hoping he wouldn't notice.

She looked up slowly once she felt it would be okay. He had this strange smile on his face. He took her arm and pulled her into his room, closing the door. Once inside he leaned his head downward and kissed her gently, letting his lips linger on hers for a moment until she reacted by backing up.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just go with it," he told her before bringing her in for a deeper kiss.

She did just as he told her to, giving in. His hand caressed her cheek softly. Electricity flowed through her whole body and she felt herself tiptoeing a bit to get closer to him. She felt the back of her leg hit his computer desk and then banged into the wall. Her mind told her to pull away and get out of there but the rest of her body told her to stay right where she stood. She wrapped her arms around her kneck, pulling herself up to his level more. His lips moved over hers so smoothly, so perfectly, so...

"Okay," Casey said, placing her hand on his chest and pulling him away, "stop."

Derek didn't seem surprised by this action. "Okay."

She leaned back against the computer table, letting out a long breath. She felt like she was on fire, like not only was her face blushing, but her arms, her legs, her hands, her toes, all of her. In her stomach was more then just butterflies, more like something was scratching her insides. She stared at him for a moment, trying to read his thoughts, but he just stood there, staring at her.

She took it all in for a moment. The scene, the situation. Her mind told her to walk out that door and not think about looking back. They could probably forget about this whole thing in time if neither of them ever spoke a word of it.

"Listen, I'm sorry," he said after at least five minutes of silence. "I wasn't thinking, again. I just haven't been myself lately. You should go."

Casey nodded as though she agreed with him. As she stood up straight and went to move for the door, she stopped herself. She turned to face him, grabbed hold of both his arms and leaned up to kiss him again. She placed her lips over his, pulling him in toward her.

She didn't want to go.

**A/N: Okays, you know the drill. Leave me comments, they make me happy. So since I have to rewrite chapters, be patient with me. Know that I am planning on keeping with this story. Its not over LOL.  
**


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**A/N: YAY! So two in like one.. I am great. This is basically a filler, kinda.**

**  
Chapter Sixteen Summery: The events from the night before take an obvious effect on Casey come morning.**

**  
Chapter Sixteen**

A familiar scent filled Casey's nose. She dug her face into the pillow and stretched out her legs. It took her a moment to remember everything that happened the night before. She felt so at peace until something next to her stirred. She leaped forward and looked beside her. Derek was lying on his side facing her.

She looked beside her at the time. 6:03 am.

They must have fallen asleep at some point, but she couldn't pin point when. She lay down again, facing him. She should probably get downstairs onto the couch before anyone woke up. Nana was usually up at the crack of dawn. She gently touched his cheek, not wanting to go. Then she rolled over, and as quietly as she could climbed off his bed and left the room.

When she got on the stairs she peaked through the kitchen to see if maybe Nora was awake yet but the whole house was silent. She tiptoed down to the couch and climbed under the covers, closing her eyes to try and get more sleep.

The two of them spent most of the night in that exact spot. Every so often stopping and staring at each other. At one point when they broke apart Casey sat on the bed. Everything was moving so fast in a direction she never thought she would take. She needed a second to breath, to think. Derek waited every time, just sitting there. She could never read his thoughts. She wasn't sure when they fell asleep exactly, just that no words were spoken the whole time.

She heard the door of the basement open and realized just how lucky she was. She sat up and saw George starting to make coffee. So she pushed the blankets off of her and decided to go into the kitchen.

"Morning," Casey said.

George turned as though she had scared him. "Oh, Casey, morning."

"Mom up?" she asked, nodding toward the door.

"I let her sleep a little more," George told her. "She'll be mad later, but I know she really will be grateful."

Casey smiled as she took a seat at the island.

"Did you sleep okay?" he asked. "I know that couch is tough."

Casey looked out at the couch before forcing a smile at George. "No, it was fine."

"Listen, about New York," George started. "I think I can talk your mom out of it if you really don't want to go."

Casey sighed. "Lets see what happens before then. Maybe I'll want to go away."

"I mean, it may be good," George said. "Nora says that your dad's really excited about it."

She bit the inside of her lip. "It could be fun."

Just then Nora came out of the basement door with a stern look on her face as she crossed her arms, glaring at George. He looked at Casey with wide eyes, like he knew what was coming. Casey smiled and shook her head before hoping off the stool and going into the living room.

She stripped the sheet off and rolled it in a ball. She could never fold a sheet as long as she lived. Her mother had tried so many times to teach her, but it just never got through. She then folded the blanket and took it all back upstairs to put it in the linen closet. On her way back down she looked at Derek's door. She wondered if he had noticed she was gone yet.

"Casey," Nana said from behind her.

Casey turned and smiled. "Good morning, Nana."

"You're up at a good hour this morning," Nana said.

Casey nodded, still forcing a smile. She figured it best not to respond. Nana headed straight for the bathroom and Casey waited until the door was closed to run into her room and grab a quick change in clothes. She found one of her jean skirts with a long sleeve light pink shirt and a darker pink tank. Quickly she changed in her closet and slipped her feet into a pair of pink clogs. She grabbed her brush and ran it through her hair a couple times, throwing it into a ponytail. She just as quickly added some pink eye shadow, some eye liner and mascara before Nana enter the room.

"Not to much make up, sweetie," Nana said, waving her finger.

Casey stopped running her lip gloss over her bottom lip and forced herself to smile as she closed it.

"You don't want to look like you're asking for it," she said, patting her on the cheek.

Casey tried to keep the smile. "Well, I'll let you get ready."

She walked out of the room and closed the door. Once outside she let out a long sigh. Nana made her so nervous sometimes. The one summer she spent a week at her house and it was like living in a nunnery. Nana made her wear long skirts everyday, no make up and her hair was always braided or in a ponytail. Nana figured that if Casey were looking for a man, all she would attract is losers with the looks of a whore.

When she got downstairs again Nora and George were both dressed and already making breakfast. It amazed her how fast anyone could get ready with Nana in the house. They actually gave the illusion that this was actually how their house was ran day after day.

"I better wake the kids," Nora said as she passed Casey quickly.

George continued to make scrambled eggs with bacon, pork roll and ham. They were really going all out. Nora must have informed him of Nana's famous Sunday breakfasts. Those were the days. Whenever the four of them would go to Nana's for the night, she would be awake before the sun rose just to make them the most amazing breakfast.

A little while later Nora joined them again with Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti on her heals. They all sat around the island and started to serve themselves breakfast. Casey jumped up and went to the refrigerator to get out some orange juice for everyone. She took the lid off and started to pour it into the glasses George already had set up for everyone. Just then Derek walked into the kitchen.

"Casey, you can stop pouring now," Lizzie said.

Casey looked down to notice the orange juice starting to leak on the counter onto the floor. She jumped back so it wouldn't get on her then dropped the whole container onto the floor.

"What's wrong with you?" Lizzie asked.

Casey looked up to see Lizzie, Edwin, George and Nora even Marti staring at her as if she were crazy. Derek had that smirk on his face as he shook his head laughing. She felt her face starting to get hot and she held it in her hands. Klutzilla strikes again. She grabbed the paper towels just as Nana walked into the kitchen.

"What is going on in here?" she asked.

Casey forced a smile. "Just an accident, is all."

She wiped down the counter first. When she went to get the mop for the floor she stepped right into the puddle and slipped and fell onto the floor. She lay on her back for a moment, wondering how this could actually get worse when George, obviously not noticing her on the ground, tripped on her leg dropping a plate of scrambled eggs on her.

"Casey!" George nearly yelled. He reached down and pulled her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"I think I am going to go shower," she said as she yanked some egg out of her hair. "Excuse me."

With everyone staring at her she started into the living room and then up the stairs, hearing the kids start laughing as she walked out the door. She trudged up the stairs. She felt disgusting, her back was soaked with orange juice, it was all in her hair and some egg that hadn't fallen off her was stuck in her hair and down her shirt. It was the worst feeling in the world.

And all because Derek walked in the room.

Once upstairs she went to her room first to get a change of clothes. She took out a pair of jeans, not caring about the skirt thing anymore, and a pink tank top. She turned and looked at herself in the mirror. Yup, she looked as bad as she felt. She turned and saw Derek in the doorway.

"That was really smooth," he said, still smirking.

Casey pushed herself past him and started toward the bathroom. "Don't even."

He laughed a bit and followed her. When she went to close the door her stopped it from closing with his hand. She put the fresh clothes on the hamper and turned around to face him.

"Please don't say anything," she said. "That was really embarrassing."

"Okay but," he stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. "I'm sorry but that… that was priceless."

She closed the seat of the toilet and sat down. "Why is this happening to me? I mean, last night-"

"Last night was great," he finished, still smirking.

She gave him a dirty look. "But I'm.. _I_ am with Trevor. Trevor and I are together. Well, I think we still are. And you, _you _are my stepbrother and stuff like that cannot happen. Its not right, it doesn't fit right. If circumstances were different, last night could be more then, just last night. But for now, that's as far as we can go. Okay?"

He seemed to consider what she had actually said for a moment before sitting on the edge of the tub. "No."

"What?" Casey asked, taken back.

"Its not okay," he said.

Casey let out a long sigh. "Derek."

"You should get a shower," he said as he stood up. He pulled a piece of egg out of her hair. "Because you look absolutely ridicules."

Casey couldn't help but smile up at him. He smiled at her, smiled, not smirked, before turning and leaving the bathroom.

**A/N: Okay, well hope you guys enjoyed. I decided to give you two together. I wrote this today rather quickly, just forgot to edit my Author notes in the other one that said I didnt.**


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**A/N: Sorry its taken me to long to write another entry. Thank you to all those loyal to this story. I tend to go through moments of writers block. Sorry if this is bad or anything. Or if any of it seems off.**

**Chapter Seventeen Summery: takes place on the Monday after the weekend with Nana.**

**Chapter Seventeen**

Casey looked up at the school in front of her. She tried everything on Sunday to get in touch with Trevor but he never answered the phone. Sunday had actually been pretty uneventful. Nana didn't let her out of her sights for more then a minute. So any means of contacting him were done by excusing herself to the bathroom.

So actually, if he were in that building right now, it would be the first time they spoke. After all of her deep thoughts while serving her Nana tea or watching some old movie. She had some pretty deep thoughts actually. Most of them revolving around this love triangle she forced herself into. She thought about Trevor, how sweet he was and how he seemed so right for her. She thought about Derek and how obnoxious and crazy and not sweet and how he seemed so totally wrong for her that it fit.

A large banner had been hung up over the weekend. They were starting to promote the Winter Formal, which would take place on the last night of school before break. On normal occasions this would excite Casey. She would fling into action, join the comity, most likely talking Emily into it with her, and have the greatest time organizing and decorating the gym. She wasn't much in the mood for it this time.

Sooner or later the bell would ring. She wouldn't be able to stand outside and busy herself with thoughts of the dance in the freezing cold, hugging herself, and avoiding the inevitable. Sooner rather then later anyway. Behind her she heard loud music coming from a car just before hearing the tires skid against the road. She turned quickly to see who it was disturbing her from her thoughts.

The music dimmed and the car turned off once it parked. Out of the car came Jennifer, Emily and a boy she knew to be Jennifer's boyfriend. Casey stood there watching as Jennifer wrapped her arm around his and Emily walked along side her, staring at Casey. At the same moment Derek came dragging his feet up the other way. He stared at her for a moment before heading into the school. Casey turned back to the three other students and noticed Jennifer staring at her with a strange look on her face.

"I'll meet you inside in a minute, baby," she said to the boy who took off for the school. Her facial expression changed to a fake smile. "Casey, its been a while."

"Yeah," Casey said, kicking the ground with her foot. "Hi, Emily."

Emily forced a smile then looked at Jennifer. "Can we go inside? Its cold."

"I'm trying to mend things here, Emily," Jennifer said, gesturing toward Casey. "Listen, Casey, things went kind of crazy. I know you care about Emily and want her to be happy, right?"

"Right…" Casey said, letting her voice trail with suspicion.

"Right!" Jennifer said, starting into the school. Casey and Emily followed. "You see, our Emily here needs a little help."

"I don't need-" Emily started but Jennifer raised her hand as though to silence her.

"You'll help her won't you, Casey," Jennifer said, more of a demand than a question. Before she could even answer Jennifer said, "Great! Its been long noted that Emily has a major crush on Derek. She told me all about this one time when they went on a date and kissed and everything. Its actually a sweet story. You know it?"

"Yeah," Casey said, looking at her feet.

"Good," Jennifer smiled. "I figure you to be a good person. So I thought, with your obvious connection you can maybe get them going again."

"They were never going," Casey said. "Derek only did that to make me mad."

Jennifer turned her head to the side. "Now that's just ridiculous. Why would your stepbrother wish to make you jealous?"

"What are you getting at?" Casey eyed her.

Jennifer smiled again. "My intentions are as pure as yours will be."

"I didn't agree to anything," Casey snapped.

Jennifer looked up the hallway to where Derek and Trevor stood at their locker. "You see, I've also noticed the closeness between your new toy and Derek. Maybe you could even get him to chat up Emily a bit."

Casey looked over at Emily who was staring down at the two boys as well, longing in her eyes. It kind of made her feel sorry for her. Years of chasing a boy who never felt the same. She knew Emily wasn't the one asking such a favor so she couldn't blame her for the bitterness in Jennifer's voice. But then, maybe if Derek did become interested in Emily, he would back off of her. It would never happen.

"I can't help you," Casey said, pushing past Jennifer who grabbed her by the wrist.

"You don't seem to understand," Jennifer said.

Casey looked down at her hand and then looked toward Jennifer with offense. "What do you think you're doing?"

"You don't have a choice here, Casey," Jennifer said. "You don't seem to realize the power I have. I can ruin your reputation for the rest of your high school career. I can make you miserable. All I want, is for you to hook them up. Why is that so difficult?"

"I suggest you let go of her, Jennifer," Grace said, coming out of nowhere. She grabbed Jennifer by the wrist of the hand that held Casey, forcing her to let go. "There, that's better. Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Stay out of it," Jennifer snapped.

"Oh I will," Grace smiled as fake as Jennifer had, "and so will Casey."

"Well, Casey and I were having a discussion," Jennifer said, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you'd excuse us, the adults are talking."

"Jennifer," Grace started as she stepped a little closer to her, "if you're here, who's running hell?"

Jennifer's jaw dropped a little, her mind probably racing for a comeback. Before she could answer Grace flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder and turned her back to her. She grabbed Casey by the wrist and dragged her off. Casey looked back behind her. Its not like Jennifer had anything against her. Unless she made up some lie there was nothing for Casey to be afraid of. Right?

"You know better then to get mixed up with the likes of them," Grace said as they arrived at their locker. She turned in the combination and as it opened a flyer fell to the floor. She picked it up. "A Winter Formal? Please tell me you didn't sign us up for the comity."

Casey looked confused. "What would give you that idea?"

"Oh, lets see," Grace started, "there was the time you made me decorate the school gym with you for the science fare, the music festival, the job fair, the games fare, all the school dances even prom, which weren't even our dances, and-"

"Okay!" Casey stopped her and took the flyer, reviewing it. "Okay. I know I can get really into school functions but this is one I will be fully avoiding. Look who's the comity captain."

Grace took the flyer back. "Captain Jennifer. Oh, we're totally joining."

"No!" Casey demanded. "We're not joining. I need to fix my life, not the gym."

Grace gave her a sideways look then looked down at the flyer. "Why don't you just ask Trevor to go with you?"

Casey could never see Trevor dressing up all nice and formal for a dance. He didn't even dress up nice for her Nana. She doubted he would go at all. She would end up either going by herself, or staying home. Derek probably already had a date all lined up. She's probably giggly and stupid and blonde, just how he likes them…

What was she thinking?!

"He wouldn't go," Casey decided to end her inner thoughts.

Grace shrugged. "You should ask him."

"Ask him what?" Trevor appeared behind Casey.

Casey turned quickly and smiled up at him. "Trevor, hi."

"Hey," he responded, scratching his head.

Both of them looked over at Grace in silence. She looked between them, and then seeming to get the hint, grabbed her text book from the locker and walked away. Casey smiled back at Trevor.

"So I called you yesterday," Casey started. "Four times-"

"I know, I wasn't home," Trevor explained.

"-Called you four times," Casey continued. "I waited for you to call back, you know, but you didn't. So I thought all about it, and I didn't do anything wrong, so you can't be angry with me. I mean, my mom sending me away for two weeks is-"

"Casey," Trevor stopped her.

She took a deep breath. "Yeah?"

"Lets just start over," Trevor said. "We'll forget this weekend happened."

Casey gave a half smile. "Forget it?"

"Yeah," he said, returning her smile. "Come on, I'll walk you to class."

He began down the hallway as Casey closed her locker door. Her eyes traveled down to Derek's locker. He wasn't there anymore. She wondered if Trevor had spoken to Derek about Saturday night. If he had, what did Derek say about it.

She shook the thoughts out of her head and ran to catch up with Trevor, falling in step with him. When she caught up to him his hand fell into hers. She couldn't help but realize again how he held it. He seemed to notice her looking at their hands and nudged her playfully with this elbow.

At the end of the hall two girls were up on ladders hanging up yet another banner to advertise the dance. Trevor seemed to pay no notice to it. Casey wondered if he would laugh at her for asking or maybe just say its not her thing. Or maybe even suck it up and go for her.

"So about the Winter Formal," Casey started, "I was kind of thinking about going."

Trevor didn't seem surprised that she brought it up. "Its not really my thing."

"I know," Casey said. "I mean, you don't have to go if you don't want to. Maybe I'll just go with Grace or something."

"You sure?" he asked.

Casey shrugged. "I can just show up maybe, then me and you can go somewhere after. I mean, it would be my last night before I go away."

"We'll plan it out," Trevor said, obviously a way to dismiss the subject.

She forced a smile at him then looked away. She felt as though he had dismissed the subject all together. Obviously she would be going with Grace or not going at all. Grace would probably have some sort of date lined up. Actually knowing Grace she already had three worthy candidates, and working on a fourth.

Casey stopped outside her class and Trevor kissed her on the cheek before walking away. She let out a long sigh.

It would be great if he would just go to the dance with her.

Casey looked into the classroom to see Sam in his usual seat toward the front. If she were still dating him, she was sure he would take her. Sam didn't mind dressing up nice or actually doing social events.

This could be a problem. Trevor was so secluded, so into doing things by himself, or in a simple setting that had no effort. Getting ready for a dance, or meeting your new girlfriends family meant that an effort was needed. Trevor liked simple things, and lets be honest, Casey was far from simple. To be with her meant doing social things, joining comities and decorating gyms.

"Casey," she heard from the doorway.

She realized quickly that she was leaning against the door gazing off in thought. She stood up straight and smiled up at Sam. He looked around the hallway and then dug his hands into his pockets.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something," Sam started.

"Please, nothing bad," Casey said, jokingly. "I've had a bad morning."

Sam went to open his mouth to speak. Then he seemed to reconsider.

"Sam, Casey, seats please," the teacher said.

Sam gave Casey another smile before taking his seat again. Casey followed quickly so the teacher could close the door. She wondered what Sam would possibly have to tell her.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**A/N: And another chapter for your reading pleasure. I wrote a few during my absense.**

**Chapter Eighteen Summery: Nana leaves and the house automatically seems more relaxed. Except when Derek reveals his plans for the dance.**

**Chapter Eighteen**

"So its between Josh, Roger, and Chris," Grace listed.

Casey laughed and shook her head. "Well, I hope whoever you take won't mind a third wheel."

"Trevor said no," Grace noted.

Casey looked both ways on the street before they started crossing. "He said no and then dismissed the subject all together. I've come to a serious conclusion today that Trevor and I have nothing in common."

"Wait," Grace reached for her arm and stopped her in the middle of the street, "what do you mean?"

"I mean that I want to go to this dance, I would love to spend my last night with the guy I am trying to be in a relationship with," Casey told her. "But he says its not his thing. Well its my thing, and I want to do it."

"Then you should go," Grace said sternly. "If Trevor doesn't want to go I am sure there's someone else who would."

Casey shook her head. "I'm not going to go with someone else, Grace."

"Well, you can't go alone and anyone the satisfaction of seeing you that way," Grace said. "Not only would Jennifer and Emily get a hoot and a holler from it, but so will Derek."

"But if I go with someone other then-" she started but was interrupted by the sound of a car horn.

Both her and Grace jumped at the sound. The woman in the car was waving her arms in anger. Casey grabbed Grace's wrist as she was obviously going to start back at the woman. When they barely were out of the way the lady sped off.

"Anyway," Casey continued. "If I went without Trevor it would be obvious that something is wrong. So maybe, its best if I don't go."

"But you have to go," Grace said in a whiney voice.

Casey shook her head. "No, I'm not going to. I'll fake ill or claim to have packing to do. But the Winter Formal isn't going to happen. Oh, and Josh. Go with Josh. Roger is a creep and Chris, is, well, go with Josh."

"Fine," Grace said. "But I am coming over after the dance."

Casey nodded. "I have no problem with that."

"Now, we better not miss the bus again tomorrow," Grace said, continuing down the street. "Because I hate walking."

Casey linked her arm in Grace's. "You're such a girl."

"Long blonde hair, boobs, you know what, I think you're right," Grace laughed.

"How about one of us learns how to drive," Casey said.

Grace started to run and screamed back, "Come on, Nana is waiting!"

Casey rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She realized how far ahead Grace was getting and then chased after her. Once she caught up to Grace, she grabbed her arm and made her stop running.

When they got to Casey's house they noticed a cab outside. Finally Nana was leaving. After a weekend of bossing her around and making her dress like a child and never letting her be alone, it was about time that Nana left. She knew Lizzie would be excited. All weekend Lizzie was Nana's little slave, fetching her drinks, letting Nana sleep in her bed, cleaning up after her. She was sure Lizzie was inside helping Nana with her luggage.

"I can't wait for her to leave," Casey told Grace as they walked over the lawn. "Now everything can go back to normal again."

Grace shrugged. "As normal as teenage rebellion and stepsibs in love can be."

"We are not in love," Casey corrected her in a sing song voice.

"Yeah, late night make out sessions and his refusal to take no for an answer must mean that he thinks you're ugly and stupid and hates you," Grace noted.

Casey rolled her eyes as she unlocked the door and stepped inside, letting Grace in behind her. Lizzie ran down the stairs, ran over to Grace and hugged her around the waist. Grace nearly fell over but caught her balance and hugged her back.

"What's up, little bit?" she smiled.

"Lizzie!" Nana called from upstairs. "Lizzie, I need help with this bag."

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Coming." She let go of Grace and then ran back upstairs.

"Poor little bit," Grace said shaking her head.

Nana came down the stairs with Lizzie and Derek carrying bags behind her. "Casey, Grace, so glad you are home in time to see me off."

"Like we would miss it, Nana," Grace smiled sweetly.

Casey greeted her at the bottom of the stairs with a hug. "I'm glad you came to visit."

"Well, I'll be seeing you in two weeks," Nana informed her. "While you're in New York with your father, I'll be making a visit."

Casey forced a smile. "Great."

Nora came from the kitchen followed by George, Edwin and Marti. "Your cabs outside."

"Well, then I guess I am off," Nana said.

She hugged Lizzie, Derek gave her a kiss on the cheek to Casey's surprise, and everyone else gave her a quick hug. Edwin took the bag from Lizzie and then he and Derek took them out to the cab, Nana at toe. Casey leaned against the door frame and watched as Derek put the two bags into the trunk. She looked toward Nana and realized that she saw what she was looking at. Nana touched Casey's face with her hand before walking away.

Grace raised an eyebrow at Casey, who just shrugged. Derek closed the trunk and stepped back onto the pavement. He opened the back door to the cab and helped her climb in. She said something to him before he closed the door for her. Everyone waved her off as the cab pulled into the street and disappeared.

"Free at last!" Lizzie seemed to yell as she ran upstairs.

Casey smiled after her then turned to Grace. "Poor thing has been dying to not wear a skirt and kick around a soccer ball all weekend."

"And you'll be stuck with her in New York," Grace noted.

Casey watched as her mom and George headed for the kitchen to probably make dinner. "One more reason for me to run away for two weeks in hiding."

"Its not like they wouldn't know where to find you," Derek said as he passed her. "You only have two friends."

Casey rolled her eyes, but he had a point. "Go crawl in a hole and die."

He smirked. "Well, that's not nice."

"That's right, Derek, keep mocking her," Grace said in a whisper so that only the three of them could hear, "that'll make the feelings go away."

"Grace!" Casey yelled as she grabbed her wrist and started dragging her upstairs.

"You call me if you ever need to talk!" Grace called over her shoulder.

"You're ridiculous!" Casey said as she pushed her best friend into her room.

Grace laughed and fell backwards onto Casey's bed. Casey picked up a pillow, hitting her upside the head with it.

"I'm only lending a listening ear," Grace defended herself.

Casey laid down next to her, her eyes on the ceiling. "I am not looking forward to this week, or the half of the next one, or the Winter Formal. Jennifer's going to have a field day with my absence. Do you think she has anything on me? Something to embarrass me?"

"Are you thinking about that little threat she made?" Grace asked. "Trust me, she has nothing. What could she possibly have?"

Casey shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know, Derek told someone about what happened between us and it got back to her. The way she was talking about me helping him and Emily get together, it struck me a little off. If you could just hear how she said it."

"You don't think Derek would tell anybody?" Grace asked.

"Do you?" Casey asked, looking over at her.

Grace just shrugged. "You could ask him."

"Like he would answer honestly," Casey said.

"Its not like you'll burst in flames if you ask," Grace noted.

Casey let out a long sigh. "Yeah but I can't do it alone."

"Probably not," Grace nodded. "I mean, you two, alone together, in an enclosed room, probably not a good idea."

Casey hit her with a pillow again. "I hate you."

"You don't hate me, you love me," Grace laughed. "But thank God you don't want to make out with me."

Casey hit her again and Grace grabbed the second pillow and hit Casey upside the head with it. Casey couldn't help but erupt into fits of giggles. They both jumped up and started hitting each other. The jumped on and off the bed to get away from each other. They were laughing so hard neither of them heard the knock on the door. Grace hit her so hard that Casey fell backward right into Derek who had walked into the room.

"What the hell?!" Derek laughed her Casey pushed away from him and smacked him with a pillow. Grace, who was standing on the bed, jumped down and hit him as well. "Well, now that's just not fair."

"Can we help you with something, Derek?" Casey asked.

Derek leaned against the door. "I was just wondering what on earth you two were doing in here."

"You know what!" Grace suddenly sounded overly cheerful. "I'm going to go with a drink."

"Grace!" Casey called after her as the door closed. She let out a long sigh and collapsed onto the bed. "That girl is a nightmare."

Derek shrugged. "I find she's really interesting."

"Listen, Derek," Casey started and he tilted his head to the side, "you didn't tell anyone about, you know, Saturday night?"

Derek smirked. "What about Saturday night?"

"Der-rek," she warned.

"Why do you ask?" he said as he sat down in her computer chair.

Casey shrugged. "Just something someone said."

"Trust me, I didn't tell a soul," he informed her. "You know what something like that could do to my rep."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're so stuck up."

"Wear the crown if it fits, Princess," Derek told her.

"Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes. "You can go now."

"Is Trevor taking you to the Winter Formal?" Derek asked, ignoring her.

Casey thought for a moment. "Actually, we decided not to go. We're just going to catch some dinner, maybe see a movie. Its my last night before I go to New York and I don't really want to spend it surrounded by people."

"I don't believe you," he said. "You would never pass up a school function. Whether it be helping out or attending, you would be there. So that means lover-boy told you it wasn't his thing."

"It was my decision," Casey lied, but made sure she kept eye contact with him so he would think she was being honest.

Derek climbed to his feet. "You'll go most likely."

"Am I talking?" Casey asked in reference to him ignoring her. "Or are you not hearing me?"

"I'll be going," Derek smirked.

Casey tried to look uninterested. "I'm happy for you."

"I wasn't two surprised when the girl practically begged me to go," Derek said as he started toward the door. "And that Jennifer, she's was so persuasive that I couldn't say no."

Casey laughed. "Jennifer has a boyfriend, Derek."

"Not Jennifer," he said as he walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Casey stood there for a moment wondering who he could possibly be talking about. It hit her like a ton of bricks and her mouth dropped open. No way Derek would say yes. He didn't like her. Years of her chasing after him, there was no possible way. She quickly ran for the door, Derek was standing outside, most likely waiting for her, but she ignored this.

"No way you're going with Emily," Casey said.

Derek smile grew. "I don't know, ever since she ditched you she's grew a very popular reputation. Since I'm the most popular guy in school its obvious I've got to at least date her."

Nora appeared at the top of the stairs. "What's going on?"

Casey turned on her heals and yelled, "God, nothing! Mind your business!" She ran downstairs where Grace was standing with Lizzie at the kitchen table setting it up. Casey grabbed her jacket and headed straight for the door, noticing Grace quickly gather her own things and follow.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**A/N: Yet another!**

**Chapter Nineteen Summery: Casey comes to some realizations on her relationship with Trevor.**

**Chapter Nineteen**

"So, how did you do it?" Casey asked as she saw Jennifer in the hallway.

Jennifer smiled. "I don't know what you mean."

"What was it?" Casey continued. "Blackmail? Were you going to spread some rumor and kill his reputation? What? Because there is no way Derek would agree to take Emily to a dance without something over his head."

"Actually, he seemed to jump at the opportunity," Jennifer informed her. "Emily is so happy. I think this could be the start of something new."

"What is this, _High School Musical_?" Casey joked.

Jennifer gave a smug look. "Why so protective of him? He's just your brother, right."

"_Step_-brother," Casey corrected, returning the smug look.

As Jennifer searched for a reaction, Casey turned on her heals and walked away. She started toward the hallway where her locker was located. On the way she passed by Paul's office. Part of her wanted to go in. She hadn't talked to him in what seemed like forever. But there was to much to say, to much to ask. So she kept walking.

Trevor was in his locker. Casey leaned against the wall and let out a long sigh. She wanted to bring the whole dance thing again. Most likely Trevor would dismiss it again. She looked down the other way just as Derek entered the hallway with Emily. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Emily had on a goofy smile and seemed to laugh at whatever Derek said.

Casey imagined what it would be like to be one of the many girls that Derek dated. Half of them had any real personality it seemed, and the other half were just Derek's point that he could have any girl he wanted. Once being a friend of Emily, Casey knew that she had a good personality. Derek always knew that he could have her. It was well known that she had the biggest crush on him sense kindergarten. So where did she fit in in Derek's little world?

Where did Casey fit?

She didn't fit.

They weren't exactly compatible. They were always arguing about every single thing. It had become obvious to her that she cared about him. But after the first time he kissed her, she was starting to wonder how much she cared for him. Or, actually, how she cared about him.

She studied Derek's body language. He had his hands shoved deep in his pockets as usual. Emily kept trying to walk close to him, close enough to knock into him. Either Derek was letting her, or not noticing. She couldn't tell either way. But he was obviously cracking jokes left and right judging on Emily's reactions and her body language. Its not like they had anything good to talk about. They had nothing in common.

"She's driving me crazy," Casey overheard a nearby conversation. "I swear, she wants to seek revenge against people who didn't do anything to her. After this dance, its over."

"Why after the dance?" another male voice chimed in.

Casey looked around the locker to see Jennifer's boyfriend talking to another boy. She quickly put her head back against the wall, not wanting to be seen.

"I'm not going to be a guy who dumps a girl a week before a dance," Trent said.

Casey smiled a little. That was actually pretty nice, in a not nice way. She would hate it if she were dumped a week before a dance. Especially for Jennifer, the captain on the dance comity. It would be embarrassing for her to show up alone. Knowing Jennifer though, she would latch onto any guy she could just so she wouldn't have to. She didn't deserve to have some sweet guy caring about her feelings.

"Its just, she has this idea in her head that Casey MacDonald is crushing on Derek and wants it to be revealed in this huge way that leave Casey flat on her face," Trent continued.

Casey's jaw dropped.

The second guy laughed. "That's something I do not want to be involved in."

"I don't know how she did it, but she's got her new best friend Emily in on the plan," Trent said.

Casey's eyes drifted back down the hallway. Derek had disappeared and was replaced by Jennifer. Casey dunked into the girls bathroom to avoid anymore torture. As soon as she was inside she realized it was actually the boy's room. She stared at the urinals for a moment before backing back out. Then she bumped into someone and jumped away.

"Whoa!" Trent said, flashing a smile. "You alright there?"

Casey spun around and balanced her book bag on her shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Thank you."

"You might want to watch where you're going," he said, nodding toward the

Casey laughed a little. "Yeah I know. I was trying to avoid someone."

Trent's eyes traveled up the hallways where Jennifer and Emily were talking. "Yeah, I know who you mean."

"Trent!" Jennifer said in a loud squeaky voice. She appeared at his side and wrapped her arms around his. "Sweetheart, you don't have to take pity on the socially challenged."

"I wasn't taking pity, we were talking," Trent said, sounding annoyed.

"I'm just going to go," Casey said as she passed by them.

"Why were you talking to her?!" Jennifer questioned Trent in a loud angry voice.

Casey rolled her eyes and shook her head. He seemed like a nice guy. From what she knew of him he was a senior and played on the hockey team. She had heard Derek talking about him before but that was it. When she heard he was dating Jennifer she figured him to be extremely shallow. Apparently he found Jennifer completely shallow.

"Trevor, hey," Casey said as she approached him at his locker.

Trevor smiled. "Hey. What was that about?"

Casey shook her head. "Nothing."

"Okay, good," Trevor said. "So I was thinking, on the night before you leave we could just hang out. Maybe we could go to a movie or something."

Casey let out a long sigh. "I'll have to talk to Grace."

"Why?" Trevor asked.

"Because she wants me to go to the dance," she informed him.

Trevor laughed. "I don't understand why you would go to that dance. Its just a bunch of the people you see everyday and you have to dress up in the most ridiculous outfits and everyone stands around judging you."

"That's not it at all," Casey said. "I would be hanging out with Grace the whole time. There's a lot of dancing and it's a good time."

"Yeah, if someone spikes the punch," Trevor snarled.

Casey shook her head. "You know, I thought maybe you would go if you realized that I really wanted to. But apparently that's not happening. So, I'll just go with Grace and Josh and have a good time not worrying about you and if you're having one."

She decided to leave it at that and walked away. Grace was over at their locker with Josh. She was pulling some major flirting techniques, completely obvious to everyone. Touching his arm, giggly, and twirling her hair. Casey decided to leave them be for right now and started toward her next class.

Why was she obsessing about this stupid dance anyway?

She had so many other important things to deal with. After all, she was leaving for New York the following Thursday. Everything just seemed a mess. She hoped that within the week things would change and she could leave for two weeks with no mess to come home to. She would have to make things fully clear and laid out when it comes to the Derek situation. That would probably be her toughest deal.

Part of the reason why she found Trevor not going to the dance with her so horrible was because she wanted him to be the greatest boyfriend. So far he wasn't helping her make that assumption. Maybe he wasn't the greatest boyfriend because he wasn't the boyfriend for her. After all, they weren't exactly meshing right. Everything seemed to be going wrong with them.

Another thing that kept bothering her was that she seemed so completely calm around him. Usually a guy would make her nervous, make her stumble, make her stutter and loose track of her own words. Trevor always made her smile when he was around her. At first it seemed like her problems would float away and all that existed was the two of them. But maybe that was the fairy tale in her own mind.

She felt a little sick to her stomach and her head seemed to be spinning. She wanted to sit down. Her eyes scanned the hallway for a chair, which she should of known she wouldn't find. The closest stairwell seemed forever away. Before thinking she took a seat on the disgusting, germy hallway floor. She closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

That came along suddenly.

When she opened her eyes Derek was standing over her, looking down at her with concern. She jumped at the site of him, not expecting him to be there. He crouched down in front of her.

"You alright?" he asked, about to feel her forehead.

She smacked his hand away. "I'm fine."

"Really because this floor is full of germs," he noted.

"I'm fine, Derek," Casey said again. "Just help me up."

Derek stood up straight and reached down for her. She took both his hands and he pulled her back to her feet.

"You sure you're okay?" Derek asked.

Casey forced a smile. "I suddenly felt a little sick. To much thinking or something."

"You want to go to the nurse?" he said.

"No, no," she continued to smile. "Seriously, I'm fine."

"You look pale," he informed her.

Casey smiled softly. "Stop obsessing." She looked downward. "You can let go of my hands now."

Derek looked down as well and dropped her hands like they were bombs in his own hands. "Sorry."

"Its okay," she smiled. "I'm just going to get to class."

"Okay," he said, beginning to back away.

Casey went to walked away when she ran right into an open locker. She stumbled backwards and then caught her balance. Immediately she looked at Derek. He flashed her a smile as though he knew it was because of him. The kid who owned the locker looked at her as though she were crazy. Derek continued to walk away, casting looks over his shoulder.

"Sorry," Casey said to the boy.

Her face felt hot. She covered it as she started back down the hallway. Maybe she would take a quick trip to the nurse for some aspirin.


	20. Chapter Twenty

**A/N: OMGOSH another.**

**Chapter Twenty Summery: Chapter is filled with Dasey moments LOL.**

**Chapter Twenty**

"How was school today?" Nora asked the whole table.

Lizzie went off beside Casey talking about her new project on the rain forest. Casey stared down at her food, pushing it around with her fork. She still felt a little funny. When she got home she tried to take a nap but she just couldn't seem to fall asleep. So instead she had to suffer with the massive headache and the nauseous feeling that wouldn't go away.

"I got my license," Derek bragged.

Nora smiled widely. "That's great, Derek!"

"I think so," Derek smirked.

"But don't think for one second you can go joy riding in our car," George noted.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Casey?" Nora asked from beside her.

Casey looked up a little surprised. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay? You haven't touched your dinner," Nora noted.

Casey dropped her fork onto her plate. "I'm fine, I'm just not hungry."

"Have you eaten today?" Nora pressed on. "I don't think you had breakfast. Are you sick?"

Casey crossed her arms and sat back. "Can't I just not be hungry for once without the third degree? God."

She looked across the table at Derek. He raised an eyebrow at her then looked back down at his food.

"I was only asking Casey," Nora said.

"Oh, yeah, you mean you're finally asking me something," Casey snapped. "Why don't you just assume I'm sick and send me off to the doctor? I mean, you've already assumed I'm a troubled child and you're sending me off to dad's for two weeks."

Nora let out a sigh. "Not now, Casey."

"What's going on?" Marti asked innocently.

"So when?" Casey asked Nora. "You never want to talk about it. You're treating me like a child."

"You're acting like a child," Nora snapped back.

"And you're acting like a horrible mother who doesn't want to take care of her child," Casey said.

"Casey!" George tried to interrupt her.

Casey climbed to her feet. "I'm partly glad I'm going to dad's. One good thing is that I get a break from you."

She started up the stairs and noticed half way up that Derek was right behind her. At the top of the stairs she turned to make sure and she was right. She couldn't imagine what the family thought of that. But she shrugged the thought and went into her room, leaving the door open, knowing Derek would just walk in anyway. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it.

"Okay, this teenage rebellion thing is getting weird," he stated.

Casey rolled her eyes and turned to face him. "Its not a rebellion as much as she's really getting on my nerves. Please, Derek, I don't want to talk about it. I really just want to sleep. So could you please just leave me alone. Please."

He stared at her for a moment before nodding and leaving. She let out a long breath. Without even changing, she climbed into bed and closed her eyes. If she could just sleep away the headache she would be able to think clearer. She needed her clear mind back more then anything.

She tossed and turned for a while without getting a moments rest. Every few minutes she would turn over to look at the clock. Time seemed to be moving incredibly slow. At some point Nora knocked on the door and talked through it to get her attention. She peaked her head in and left, turning the light off when she noticed her sleeping. But she was only faking it.

The room was incredibly dark now. The light from the street seemed extremely dim. She stared up at the black hole she had for a ceiling. She wondered what New York was like. Part of her found going to be exciting. She might actually have a good time. The part that bugged her was that she was being forced to do it. If she had made the decision she might appreciate it more but that wasn't the case.

Her head was pounding now.

She rolled over and looked at the clock. Midnight. Everyone in the house was probably asleep. Without a second thought she climbed out of bed. She listened for noises for a moment before closing her door behind her. She walked to the door next to hers and tapped lightly. There was no answer or response whatsoever. She opened the door and peaked inside.

She could see Derek in the bed. He was lying on his side facing the door with the blankets pulled up to his neck. He didn't even stir at the sound of the door. She stepped inside and closed it behind her. Just as it shut Derek jumped a little.

"Casey?" he squinted at her.

Casey walked over to the bed and sat down. "I can't sleep."

"So you wanted me to suffer with you?" he asked.

"Don't be grouchy," she joked. "Move over."

"Are you serious?" he asked as though this were completely normal.

Casey shoved him a little. "Yeah, move over."

He sighed and did as told. She grabbed some of the blankets from him and laid her head down on his pillow. He got comfortable again beside her and his breath began to even out. She smiled at him. He didn't seem at all surprised that she wanted to sleep in his bed, so much that he surprised her with his actions. If he had showed up in her bedroom she would of kicked him out. But he treated it as though it happened all the time.

"Derek?" she whispered.

"What?" he asked groggily.

She turned laid on her side to face him better. "I don't feel good."

He opened his eyes and smiled at her. "I know. Now go to sleep."

She smiled again before closing her eyes. Next thing she knew his alarm was going off beside her. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up to see the clock. 6:30 a.m. She felt an arm over her stomach and realized that Derek's face was buried in the back of her neck. He didn't even move at the loud beeping sound of his alarm. She turned it off and then rolled over to face him.

"Derek?" she whispered and pushed his shoulder. "Wake up."

He rolled over, his arm falling off her waste. "What?"

"Its time to wake up," she told him.

He opened his eyes and looked over at the clock. "Another half hour."

"No," she said, sitting up and shaking him. "Come on. I have to get back to my room without being seen."

He sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. "Fine, fine."

He sat up and obviously forced himself to get to his feet. Casey sat on the edge of the bed. He walked out into the hallway, closing the door behind him. A moment later her opened it again. She ran passed him in the hallway and back into her own room. He stood in her doorway for a moment.

"You feeling better?" he asked.

Casey grabbed a pair of jeans from the dresser and smiled at him. "A lot. Thanks."

He nodded and disappeared back into his room. She continued to smile at where he was just standing. Then she closed her door so she could get dressed for school. She chose a long sleeved pink sweater knowing that it was supposed to be freezing outside. She brushed her hair flat and left it like that. Her hair was getting so long, just how she wanted it.

When she finished everything including her makeup she went downstairs for breakfast. Lizzie and Edwin were at the counter eating cereal. Casey grabbed a glass of orange juice, not feeling up to eating anything. Nora and George entered the kitchen from their room in the basement dressed and ready to go.

"Are you going to have some cereal?" Nora asked Casey.

"I'm fine," Casey said as she sat down.

"I'm going to go get Marti," George said, heading out of the kitchen.

Derek came in next. He grabbed a bowl and poured in his favorite cereal and some milk. He sat next to Casey and eyed the glass of orange juice in front of her. He jumped up and grabbed another bowl from the cabinet. Then he put the bowl in front of Casey who went to argue but he ignored her. He poured in a little bit of cereal and added milk. Then he handed her a spoon. Everyone stared at him like he was crazy, but he ignored them and started eating his own bowl.

"I'm not hungry, Derek," Casey told him.

"Eat," he demanded. "You're probably feeling sick because your hungry."

Casey rolled her eyes. She picked up her spoon and surprisingly did as told.

After breakfast, to everyone's surprise, Derek put everyone's bowls in the sink and the cereal back in the cabinet. Lizzie and Edwin decided to ignore it and just started to grab their stuff for school. George finally came back down with Marti.

"Everyone ready?" he asked.

"I am," Edwin answered.

Casey remained in her seat and looked at Nora. "Can I just stay home? I still feel a little sick."

"Come on," Derek said, standing in front of her. He held out his hand to help her off the stool. "We'll walk, you can get some air."

Casey sighed. She grabbed her bag off the counter and took his hand, hoping down off the stool. He playfully spun her in a circle and she pushed him when she came out of it. Derek grabbed his own bag and both of their jackets and they headed out the door.

"What was that?" she overheard Lizzie ask before the door closed.

"Here," Derek said, handing her jacket to her and taking her bag so she could put it on.

"What's with you this morning?" she asked, taking her bag back.

Derek shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Casey said. They reached the street and started toward school. "Its like you're taking care of me."

Derek smiled. "You don't like it?"

"No, no," she smiled back. "Its kind of nice."

They were silent for a moment and Derek gave her a playful shove. "Just don't expect me to carry you."

"I didn't ask you too," she laughed, shoving him back. "Thanks, Derek."

"Whoa," Derek said, pulling her arm before she tripped over a trashcan. "Watch your step."

Casey laughed and rubbed her face with embarrassment. "I've really got to stop doing that."

"Its cute," Derek said playfully.

"Derek Venturi," she started, "did you just call my klutziness cute?"

Derek laughed. "Well, it's a nice laugh at your expense. But I'm starting to think I'm causing it."

"Don't flatter yourself," Casey said rather quickly.

"Oh I will," he joked.

When they got to school they went their separate ways. As Casey walked toward Grace, who was sitting with Josh by his car, she glanced back at Derek several times as he headed into the school. When Grace spotted her she slid off the hood of the car, touched Josh's chest, and then walked over to her.

"You know, after this dance," Grace started and nodded back toward Josh, "I might just keep dating him."

Casey smiled and nodded. "Step it up a notch, Gracie."

"Yeah, he's a swell guy," Grace laughed. "Come on, lets get inside." She took her arm and pulled her toward the door. "So I called you last night but Lizzie said you went to bed early. She informed me that you yelled at your mom and she asked me what was wrong with you."

"You're kidding," Casey laughed.

"Nope, honest," Grace said as the got inside. "I just told her you were fine and had a lot going on. I told her not to worry about you."

Casey looked at the people around them. "I really didn't get much sleep."

"No?" Grace asked.

Casey watched as she put in their locker combination. "Not until like midnight… when I went into…" -She looked around again- "…lets just say I've only slept that good once."

"Oh my God!" Grace cheered. She squealed a little bit and jumped up and down. "No way, no way! What happened?"

Casey hushed her. "Nothing. Quiet."

"Right, right, sorry," Grace said. She looked around. "Was it a repeat?"

"No, not at all," Casey explained in a whisper. "It wasn't anything like it. I just couldn't sleep and I just went to his room. I guess I just needed some company or something. So I went into his room and he just moved over and we fell asleep."

Grace leaned against the locker next to their own and placed her hand over her heart. "You two are meant for each other."

"No, Grace, we're not," Casey argued.

"I say that by the time you leave for vacation, you'll realize it," Grace told her.

"You're insane, do you know that?" Casey laughed.

Grace turned back around and started gathering her things. "So what are you going to do about Trevor? I know you've thought about it."

"Actually," Casey sighed, "I'm going to tell him that I think we're better off being friends. I was wrong to jump into a relationship with him. This past weekend and the whole dance thing just shows me that its not going to work. Maybe the reason why I was so happy to be around him and all was just because I like him as a friend. I mean, lets face it, I'm not in my normal crush mode when he's around me."

Grace laughed and when Casey gave her an evil eye she stopped and said quickly, "Sorry."

"But I don't want you getting false ideas here," Casey said. "This is not because of a certain other guy."

"Whatever you say," Grace smirked. "So when you breaking it to Trevor?"

"I guess when I see him," Casey noted.

Grace nodded down the hallway. "Great, go for it."

Casey looked down the hallways where Trevor just entered. She suddenly felt afraid. She looked back at Grace, who had already closed the locker and began walking away.

"Later," she told herself and followed her.


	21. Chapter TwentyOne

**A/N: Last one I have written for now.. But I am working on Chapter 22 as we speak.**

**Chapter Twenty-One Summery: Casey breaks it off with Trevor. She decides to have a nice night out with Grace but realizes that the night brings anything but fun.**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

"Friends?" Trevor asked.

Casey tried to hold a smile. "I think its better that way."

"I think so too," Trevor said.

"Yeah?" she asked, leaning forward in her chair.

"Yeah," he assured her.

"Thank goodness," Casey sighed. "I don't want us to be weird but I just think we're not meant to be a couple."

Trevor nodded. "I think you're right."

"Okay, well, I'm going to go," Casey said, standing up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She walked out of the empty classroom and into the empty hallway. He had come to get her after class and she asked him to stay. She was glad he took it all so well. He must have realized the same thing she had.

Before leaving she grabbed her coat out of her locker and dropped off a couple books. Then she started her walk home alone. Outside it was freezing cold. She hugged her coat around her. She hated when she missed the school bus but she figured that she would want the fresh air after her talk with Trevor. But now having had the conversation, it looked as though the long walk and freezing cold fresh air wasn't actually needed.

When she arrived home it was around four o'clock. Nora was home early preparing dinner in the kitchen. She shut the door as quietly as possible, not wanting anyone to know she was getting in. She took off her coat and hung it on the coat hook before tip toeing up the stairs to her room.

"Grace called for you," Edwin said as she passed him in the hallway.

Casey grabbed the phone off the receiver and started dialing Grace's number. She went into her room and dropped her bag onto the floor. As she waited for Grace at to answer she kicked off her shoes and looked for something more comfortable to wear around the house.

"Hello, most amazing girl in the world speaking," Grace answered, obviously knowing it had to be Casey on the line.

"I wouldn't go that far," Casey joked.

"You talk to Trevor?" Grace asked.

Casey laid on her bed. "Yeah. It went pretty well. We agreed that being friends would be best."

"Did you tell Derek?" Grace said.

Casey let out a long sigh. "No." She sat up. "And I'm not going to tell him. It doesn't matter. I don't have to tell him. What difference would it make? He's still my step-brother, he'll still sleep in the room next to mine, he'll still be Derek. My relationship status with other boys, won't change my relationship status with him."

Grace was silent for a moment and Casey waited for her response. Part of her hoped that Grace would try and convince her to not give up but the other part of her wanted Grace to agree completely with her. She wasn't sure which part she wanted more.

"Do you remember when we were younger, every Wednesday night we would get together and watch Dawson's Creek?" Grace asked but didn't wait for a response. "You were all for Pacey and Joey getting together. I remember you saying that you wanted a Pacey when you get older. You can always tell what your ideal relationship will be by the relationships you 'ship' as its called. Well, the reason why I am pushing the whole Derek thing is because its ideal for you. You argue and bicker and flirt constantly. Its almost heartbreaking that you haven't realized he's your Pacey. I mean, minus the vocabulary lessons and gay best friend and a creek, you've got your little Wednesday night show."

Casey staid quiet now. She let out a long sigh.

"I'll talk to you later," Casey said, barely audible, and hung up the phone.

She laid back down and looked up at the ceiling. Grace knew exactly how to put things in the most cheesiest of ways. She was amazing like that. They did argue an awful lot with the obvious sweet moments. It was fully noted now that they cared a lot for each other.

Somewhere along the way she must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew she was opening her eyes to the sound of knocking. She looked around a little confused. Her room was dark. She had never turned the light on when she got home. She climbed to her feet and opened the door, squinting at the light from the hallway.

"Dinner," Derek said.

Casey leaned against the door as she held it open. "I'm not really hungry. I'll pass."

"Are you still feeling sick?" he asked.

Casey smiled softly. "No, no, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired."

"Alright," he said, turning and heading back down the stairs.

Casey waited a moment, staring where she had last seen him. She closed the door and turned on her light. She sat down at her computer. Grace had sent her an instant message an hour before telling her that the Winter Formal theme song was "Have a Little Faith in Me" and that she wished it wasn't the Mandy Moore version. Casey smiled and rolled her eyes.

**Casey: **I think I'll go to the dance.

**Grace: **Seriously?

**Casey: **Yeah, I'll be going stag but it may be fun.

**Grace: **It'll be so much fun!

**Casey: ** I just need a dress.

**Grace: **Come over right now.

Casey bit the inside of her lip. She had already avoided dinner, how could she possibly get past them without a really good excuse. Nora would most likely get all upset that Casey ditched dinner to hang out with Grace.

**Casey: **Be there in a bit.

She put her shoes on quickly. Then she went downstairs where everyone was sitting at the table. They all turned when they heard her come down.

"You decided to join us?" Nora asked.

"I can't," Casey told her. "I totally forgot about this English assignment. I've got to run to the library before it closes and get a book." She grabbed her coat off the hook. "I'll be back in a little bit."

With that she walked out of the house. The night was absolutely freezing. She pulled her coat on as fast as she could. She wanted to go back in and grab her scarf but decided against it. There was a reason she left in such a hurry. If she went back in she would be subjected to questioning.

Not to much later she arrived at Grace's house. She was outside for some odd reason. As Grace walked up the walkway she noticed that Grace was holding something in her hand.

"Car keys?" Casey asked.

"We're going shopping," Grace said, holding up her mother's credit card.

Casey shook her head. "You only have a learners permit."

"And what more of a reason to learn," Grace explained. "Come on. Mom said its fine."

Casey watched as Grace rushed past her to the car parked in the street. She hesitated but ignored her gut and followed. Grace started the car and turned on the heat immediately. Cold air came out at first but at the engine heated up, the air turned warm. Casey put her hands over the vent to warm them up a bit.

Grace pulled onto the road. "I was thinking I would get something tight and red. That'll drive Josh crazy. We all know you'll get something pink."

"There's nothing wrong with pink," Casey laughed.

"No, no there's not," Grace agreed. "But I'm beginning to think you don't realize there's any other color."

Casey rolled her eyes still smiling. A couple minutes later they pulled into the mall parking lot. Grace picked the closest spot to the doors. The hurried into the warm building after she parked. Grace grabbed Casey by the wrist and dragged her into the first dress store she saw.

"I saw a dress here the other day," Grace explained.

Casey strayed away from her, looking at a couple racks as Grace dug for the one she wanted. She pulled out this one soft pink dress. It was medieval looking, very classy. She put it in front of her and glanced at herself in the closest mirror. She would look really nice in it. She looked at the size. It was a little to big for her so she started to look for one in a smaller size.

"Found it!" Grace called. "And in my size."

Casey laughed a little as Grace rushed for a fitting room. She continued her own search, finally finding it on another rack in her size. Then she herself headed for the fitting room. Grace was coming out as she entered. She looked stunning. The dress was a thin layer of silk and another layer of sheer red with sparkles on it, not right for the winter, but completely Grace. She adjusted the thin straps on her shoulder and smoothed it over her stomach.

"What do you think?" she asked, spinning in a circle.

"Josh will certainly go crazy," Casey smiled.

She dunked into a fitting room and tried on her own dress. It fit perfectly. It flowed from her waist down to the floor. The top had a corset appeal to it and the sleeves hung off her shoulder a bit to reveal a nice neck line. She walked out into the main fitting room where Grace stood, back in her clothes.

"Wow," Grace said. "You're breathtaking. You're getting it."

"Its only the first dress I tried on," Casey said.

Grace smiled. "And you look amazing. Don't press your luck."

"Alright, this dress it is," Casey said, turning back around to change back.

When she came back out Grace grabbed the dress and rushed to pay for it. Casey didn't bother to argue. Grace's mom must have made her mad in some sort of way. She knew that she didn't allow Grace to drive that car and she knew that she didn't hand Grace her credit card. They were in some argument and Grace was just trying to get her back in some sort of way.

She began looking around at the other dresses. Grace was absolutely right. The dress she chose was the one for her because she couldn't see herself in any other one. She looked over at the register where Grace was taking two bags off the counter. She waved for Casey and they went back out into the mall.

"Here's yours," Grace said, handing her a bag.

"Thanks," Casey smiled. "I told my mom I went to the library and I'm coming home with a dress."

"We'll need some accessories," Grace said. "Like hair stuff and jewelry."

"Don't you think you're pressing it," Casey noted.

Grace shook her head. "I could never."

Casey followed her from store to store. Grace bought at least one thing from every store she entered. If Casey refused something, Grace would buy it for her anyway. She seemed kind of out of it. Casey tried to stay as close to her as possible. She knew something was so obviously wrong with her best friend and she wished nothing more then to know what.

Knowing Grace she would tell her later. She just needed some time to cool off. Unlike Casey, Grace liked to keep things inside until it passed, once she could think clearly on the situation. It had always bothered Casey when they were younger. Casey always wanted to help her and hated it when Grace would turn her down. But as time went on, Casey learned to deal with it and become more understanding.

Grace didn't give a second thought to any purchase she made until the card was finally declined. She smiled at the cashier before shrugging and exiting the store, Casey on her heals.

"Ready to go?" Grace asked.

Casey nodded. "Sure."

Grace shuffled the bags in her hands, trying to hold them more comfortably. Casey watched from behind her. She watched as Grace stumbled a bit, practically running into someone. Once outside they tossed their bags into the trunk of the car and climbed inside.

"That one necklace I got for you will look perfect with that dress," Grace said as she pulled onto the road. "We'll hot curler your hair and then put those clips in it. You'll look stunning."

Casey smiled. "Its not like I'm impressing anyone."

"Please," Grace laughed. "One look at you and Derek won't be able to refuse. He'll leave that Emily girl in a heartbeat."

"Watch the road," Casey said.

Grace swerved a little. "Right, right."

Casey felt a little uneasy. She was actually starting to regret going with her. Grace swerved on more time into the next lane but quickly came back into theirs.

"Grace, have you been drinking?" Casey asked.

Grace smiled. "You caught me."

"You should pull over," Casey said.

"And what? Let you drive?" Grace asked. "You don't even have a learners permit. We're fine."

Suddenly the car swerved again onto the sidewalk. Grace hit the breaks so the car skidded and then hit a telephone pole.


End file.
